The (in)significance of the referential-attributive distinction

Abstract

This paper tackles the question as to whether or not the referential-attributive (RA) distinction has any information-structural significance. That is, does this distinction mark a contrast between different ways a speaker might package the informational content of utterances that use definite descriptions? Furthermore, are there any overt markers of this distinction? In this paper I focus on referential and attributive uses of definite descriptions, and leave the issue of indefinites for another occasion. I answer both of the above questions negatively. While definite descriptions have an information-structural role to play, the RA distinction does not. Moreover, after examining several potential candidates for markers of the RA distinction, I conclude that there are no such overt markers. This is in fact to be expected if one accepts my proposal to see referential and attributive uses of definite descriptions as having the same general function, namely to single out something as a center of interest. The difference is simply that referential uses focus on role bearers, whereas attributive uses focus on role properties. Which of these the speaker intends will depend on context and hearers will have to rely on contextual assumptions to recover the intended message.