Based On The Theory Of Adaptation, Description That Analysis

The reference problem of the name is always the focus which the logicians，philosophers and linguists pay attention to, especially the modern time. The fixing aname’s reference is the basis for understanding and communication. On the basis ofanalyzing the previous studies, the paper researches the reference of definitedescriptions from the perspective of Adaptation Theory. After concluding and analyzingthe past classical theory, the writer tries to explore this problem from a new perspectivewith the wish of bringing some enlightenment to the study of this problem. The paper ismainly divided into three chapters.The first part is the first chapter which introduced the concept of descriptions andtheoretical origins of the descriptions and their classifications, making them differentfrom the singular terms. This reveals the unique status and role logic of Descriptionsterm.The second part，which including the following content of the paper，is the reviewof the past study on the reference problem of definite descriptions. First is thediscussion of Russell’s theory of descriptions. Following is the writer discusses theStrawson，Donellan and Kripke’s points of definite descriptions orderly. This process isnot only the latter’s criticism to the former, but also the development process of theresearch in the language phenomenon of definite descriptions. And finally is thesummary of the previous classical theory in which the writer also enumerates researchand development trends.The third part is the thesis of the paper. The writer discusses the reference problemof definite descriptions by profiting the knowledge of Adaptation Theory.Communication is not an independent process，but related closely to the context(Language users，social world，the mental world and the physical world) in it. Onlyunderstand context properly can people understand the utterances correctly can make proper language choices in the verbal communication，and then the communicationwould be successful. It will unify the semantic reference and the speaker’s reference byusing the Adaptation Theory. Then we will have a better view to explain the importantrole of the definite descriptions’ sense and the individual intention in determining thedenotation. According to the Adaptation Theory，we will combine the philosophy oflinguistics and the pragmatics so that we can explain how important of thecommunicator and the context are in the process of defining the denotation of thedefinite descriptions, this would lead a new way of researching the denotation of thedefinite descriptions.