Talk:Referring expression

Clean Up Needed
Substantial clean-up editing is required to improve the overall tone and readability of this article. The tone used in the introductory section, as well as throughout, is very casual. For example, terms signifying that the author is unsure of the information should be removed (ex: probably, thing). Overall the article would benefit greatly from increased use of scholarly tone. It is clear from the tone used that no expert knowledge has been contributed. Additionally the sentence structure and grammar require revision as the sentences are poorly formed and difficult to follow. Vvanzee (talk) 02:22, 19 September 2014 (UTC)

More suggestions
Besides the mention of Lyons, there is not any mention of the previous scholarly work done on referring expressions. I feel like it would be useful to the article to include a section that refers to the history of sense and reference within linguistics. This would include mention/linking of Frege, Russell, etc (especially with the mention of Kripke’s work). This would be to show the underpinnings of linguistic philosophy with regard to referring expressions. Also to “round-out” the article with background information, for the sake of readability/accessibility by non-linguists. Binding theory is also something that can be incorporated into this article, with binding as a means of assigning reference. Mentioning referring expressions as “free” under the principles of binding theory can serve to expand on how they function within syntax. --Jaylinm (talk) 04:11, 19 September 2014 (UTC)

Kinds of Reference Relations
This section needs some formatting revisions. It is difficult to follow the different types of referring relations that are listed. A list of the types or subheadings for each referring relation would be very helpful. Vvanzee (talk) 02:22, 19 September 2014 (UTC)