centaurs, goblins, dragons, phoenix,…
In
pragmatic sense, we might think of reference as an act in which a speaker, or writer, uses linguistic forms to enable a listener or reader, to identify something. Those linguistic forms are referring expressions, which can be: Proper nouns: Shakespeare, Cathy Revuelto, Hawaii,…. Noun phrases: the author, the singer, the island, …or a man, a woman, a beautiful place,… Pronouns: he, it, her, them,…
A
horse is a four-legged solid-hoofed animal with flowing mane and tail, used from early times to carry loads, for riding, etc. My horse is white.
Unicorns,
Referennse and reference
•Referential and attributive uses
•Names and referents
•The role of co-text •Anaphoric reference
The
sense is the "cognitive significance" or "mode of presentation" of the referent. The sense of a proper name is whatever meaning it has, when there is no object to be indicated. The reference is the object that the expression refers to. The reference (or referent) of a proper name is the object it means or indicates.