Direct reference to the non-linguistic context, relying on world knowledge, is known as which type of reference?

• A. Cataphoric reference
• B. Exophoric reference
• C. Endophoric reference
• D. Intrusion

Answer: (B)

Exophoric reference occurs when the referent lies outside the text and the listener relies on the real-world context or shared knowledge to identify it. In this case, the referent is not introduced within the discourse; you look to the surrounding environment or common world knowledge to understand what is being pointed to or talked about. That external, non-textual grounding is what sets exophoric references apart from others that depend on something mentioned inside the text. For example, saying “That man over there is my brother” uses information outside the sentence itself—the person and the scene around you—to interpret who is being referred to. This contrasts with endophoric (anaphoric) references, which point back to something already mentioned in the text, or cataphoric references, which point forward to something that will be mentioned later.