CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs skin-theme-clientpref-day mf-expand-sections-clientpref-0 mf-font-size-clientpref-small mw-mf-amc-clientpref-0" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>Use–mention distinction - Wikipedia</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js skin-theme-clientpref-day mf-expand-sections-clientpref-0 mf-font-size-clientpref-small mw-mf-amc-clientpref-0";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )enwikimwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy","wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"94f01e8c-c4b2-46e5-be51-8ae042404433","wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Use–mention_distinction","wgTitle":"Use–mention distinction","wgCurRevisionId":1259714255,"wgRevisionId":1259714255, "wgArticleId":172990,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Use–mention_distinction","wgRelevantArticleId":172990,"wgIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgNoticeProject":"wikipedia","wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive":false,"wgFlaggedRevsParams":{"tags":{"status":{"levels":1}}},"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgPopupsFlags":0,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFMode":"stable","wgMFAmc":false,"wgMFAmcOutreachActive":false,"wgMFAmcOutreachUserEligible":false,"wgMFLazyLoadImages":true,"wgMFEditNoticesFeatureConflict":false,"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true,"tagline":false,"nearby":true},"wgMFIsSupportedEditRequest":true, "wgMFScriptPath":"","wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":9000,"wgRelatedArticlesCompat":[],"wgCentralAuthMobileDomain":true,"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgSectionTranslationMissingLanguages":[{"lang":"ace","autonym":"Acèh","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ady","autonym":"адыгабзэ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"alt","autonym":"алтай тил","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"am","autonym":"አማርኛ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ami","autonym":"Pangcah","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"an","autonym":"aragonés","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ang","autonym":"Ænglisc","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ann","autonym":"Obolo","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"anp","autonym":"अंगिका","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ar","autonym":"العربية","dir":"rtl"},{"lang":"ary","autonym":"الدارجة","dir":"rtl"},{"lang":"arz","autonym":"مصرى","dir":"rtl"},{"lang":"as","autonym":"অসমীয়া","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ast","autonym":"asturianu","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"av","autonym":"авар","dir":"ltr"},{ "lang":"avk","autonym":"Kotava","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"awa","autonym":"अवधी","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ay","autonym":"Aymar aru","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"az","autonym":"azərbaycanca","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"azb","autonym":"تۆرکجه","dir":"rtl"},{"lang":"ba","autonym":"башҡортса","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ban","autonym":"Basa Bali","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"bar","autonym":"Boarisch","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"bbc","autonym":"Batak Toba","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"bcl","autonym":"Bikol Central","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"bdr","autonym":"Bajau Sama","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"be","autonym":"беларуская","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"bew","autonym":"Betawi","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"bg","autonym":"български","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"bho","autonym":"भोजपुरी","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"bi","autonym":"Bislama","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"bjn","autonym":"Banjar","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"blk","autonym":"ပအိုဝ်ႏဘာႏသာႏ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"bm","autonym":"bamanankan","dir":"ltr"},{ "lang":"bn","autonym":"বাংলা","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"bo","autonym":"བོད་ཡིག","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"bpy","autonym":"বিষ্ণুপ্রিয়া মণিপুরী","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"br","autonym":"brezhoneg","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"bs","autonym":"bosanski","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"btm","autonym":"Batak Mandailing","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"bug","autonym":"Basa Ugi","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"cdo","autonym":"閩東語 / Mìng-dĕ̤ng-ngṳ̄","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ce","autonym":"нохчийн","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ceb","autonym":"Cebuano","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ch","autonym":"Chamoru","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"chr","autonym":"ᏣᎳᎩ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ckb","autonym":"کوردی","dir":"rtl"},{"lang":"co","autonym":"corsu","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"cr","autonym":"Nēhiyawēwin / ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐍᐏᐣ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"crh","autonym":"qırımtatarca","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"cs","autonym":"čeština","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"cu","autonym": "словѣньскъ / ⰔⰎⰑⰂⰡⰐⰠⰔⰍⰟ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"cy","autonym":"Cymraeg","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"da","autonym":"dansk","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"dag","autonym":"dagbanli","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"de","autonym":"Deutsch","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"dga","autonym":"Dagaare","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"din","autonym":"Thuɔŋjäŋ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"diq","autonym":"Zazaki","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"dsb","autonym":"dolnoserbski","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"dtp","autonym":"Kadazandusun","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"dv","autonym":"ދިވެހިބަސް","dir":"rtl"},{"lang":"dz","autonym":"ཇོང་ཁ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ee","autonym":"eʋegbe","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"el","autonym":"Ελληνικά","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"eml","autonym":"emiliàn e rumagnòl","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"eo","autonym":"Esperanto","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"eu","autonym":"euskara","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"fa","autonym":"فارسی","dir":"rtl"},{"lang":"fat","autonym":"mfantse","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ff","autonym":"Fulfulde", "dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"fi","autonym":"suomi","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"fj","autonym":"Na Vosa Vakaviti","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"fo","autonym":"føroyskt","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"fon","autonym":"fɔ̀ngbè","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"fr","autonym":"français","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"frp","autonym":"arpetan","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"frr","autonym":"Nordfriisk","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"fur","autonym":"furlan","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"fy","autonym":"Frysk","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"gag","autonym":"Gagauz","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"gan","autonym":"贛語","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"gcr","autonym":"kriyòl gwiyannen","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"gl","autonym":"galego","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"glk","autonym":"گیلکی","dir":"rtl"},{"lang":"gn","autonym":"Avañe'ẽ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"gom","autonym":"गोंयची कोंकणी / Gõychi Konknni","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"gor","autonym":"Bahasa Hulontalo","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"gpe","autonym":"Ghanaian Pidgin","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"gu","autonym":"ગુજરાતી","dir": "ltr"},{"lang":"guc","autonym":"wayuunaiki","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"gur","autonym":"farefare","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"guw","autonym":"gungbe","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"gv","autonym":"Gaelg","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ha","autonym":"Hausa","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"hak","autonym":"客家語 / Hak-kâ-ngî","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"haw","autonym":"Hawaiʻi","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"he","autonym":"עברית","dir":"rtl"},{"lang":"hi","autonym":"हिन्दी","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"hif","autonym":"Fiji Hindi","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"hr","autonym":"hrvatski","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"hsb","autonym":"hornjoserbsce","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ht","autonym":"Kreyòl ayisyen","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"hu","autonym":"magyar","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"hy","autonym":"հայերեն","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"hyw","autonym":"Արեւմտահայերէն","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ia","autonym":"interlingua","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"iba","autonym":"Jaku Iban","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ie","autonym":"Interlingue","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ig","autonym": "Igbo","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"igl","autonym":"Igala","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ilo","autonym":"Ilokano","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"io","autonym":"Ido","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"is","autonym":"íslenska","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"it","autonym":"italiano","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"iu","autonym":"ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ / inuktitut","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"jam","autonym":"Patois","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"jv","autonym":"Jawa","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ka","autonym":"ქართული","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"kaa","autonym":"Qaraqalpaqsha","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"kab","autonym":"Taqbaylit","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"kbd","autonym":"адыгэбзэ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"kbp","autonym":"Kabɩyɛ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"kcg","autonym":"Tyap","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"kg","autonym":"Kongo","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"kge","autonym":"Kumoring","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ki","autonym":"Gĩkũyũ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"kk","autonym":"қазақша","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"kl","autonym":"kalaallisut","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"km","autonym": "ភាសាខ្មែរ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"kn","autonym":"ಕನ್ನಡ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"koi","autonym":"перем коми","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"krc","autonym":"къарачай-малкъар","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ks","autonym":"कॉशुर / کٲشُر","dir":"rtl"},{"lang":"ku","autonym":"kurdî","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"kus","autonym":"Kʋsaal","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"kv","autonym":"коми","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"kw","autonym":"kernowek","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ky","autonym":"кыргызча","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"lad","autonym":"Ladino","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"lb","autonym":"Lëtzebuergesch","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"lez","autonym":"лезги","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"lg","autonym":"Luganda","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"li","autonym":"Limburgs","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"lij","autonym":"Ligure","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"lld","autonym":"Ladin","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"lmo","autonym":"lombard","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ln","autonym":"lingála","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"lo","autonym":"ລາວ", "dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"lt","autonym":"lietuvių","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ltg","autonym":"latgaļu","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"lv","autonym":"latviešu","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"mad","autonym":"Madhurâ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"mai","autonym":"मैथिली","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"map-bms","autonym":"Basa Banyumasan","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"mdf","autonym":"мокшень","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"mg","autonym":"Malagasy","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"mhr","autonym":"олык марий","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"mi","autonym":"Māori","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"min","autonym":"Minangkabau","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"mk","autonym":"македонски","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ml","autonym":"മലയാളം","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"mn","autonym":"монгол","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"mni","autonym":"ꯃꯤꯇꯩ ꯂꯣꯟ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"mnw","autonym":"ဘာသာမန်","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"mos","autonym":"moore","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"mr","autonym":"मराठी","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"mrj","autonym": "кырык мары","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"mt","autonym":"Malti","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"mwl","autonym":"Mirandés","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"my","autonym":"မြန်မာဘာသာ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"myv","autonym":"эрзянь","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"mzn","autonym":"مازِرونی","dir":"rtl"},{"lang":"nah","autonym":"Nāhuatl","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"nan","autonym":"閩南語 / Bân-lâm-gú","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"nap","autonym":"Napulitano","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"nb","autonym":"norsk bokmål","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"nds","autonym":"Plattdüütsch","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"nds-nl","autonym":"Nedersaksies","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ne","autonym":"नेपाली","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"new","autonym":"नेपाल भाषा","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"nia","autonym":"Li Niha","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"nn","autonym":"norsk nynorsk","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"nqo","autonym":"ߒߞߏ","dir":"rtl"},{"lang":"nr","autonym":"isiNdebele seSewula","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"nso","autonym":"Sesotho sa Leboa", "dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ny","autonym":"Chi-Chewa","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"oc","autonym":"occitan","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"om","autonym":"Oromoo","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"or","autonym":"ଓଡ଼ିଆ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"os","autonym":"ирон","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"pa","autonym":"ਪੰਜਾਬੀ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"pag","autonym":"Pangasinan","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"pam","autonym":"Kapampangan","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"pap","autonym":"Papiamentu","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"pcd","autonym":"Picard","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"pcm","autonym":"Naijá","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"pdc","autonym":"Deitsch","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"pl","autonym":"polski","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"pms","autonym":"Piemontèis","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"pnb","autonym":"پنجابی","dir":"rtl"},{"lang":"ps","autonym":"پښتو","dir":"rtl"},{"lang":"pt","autonym":"português","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"pwn","autonym":"pinayuanan","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"qu","autonym":"Runa Simi","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"rm","autonym":"rumantsch","dir":"ltr"},{"lang": "rn","autonym":"ikirundi","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ro","autonym":"română","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"rsk","autonym":"руски","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"rue","autonym":"русиньскый","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"rup","autonym":"armãneashti","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"rw","autonym":"Ikinyarwanda","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"sa","autonym":"संस्कृतम्","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"sah","autonym":"саха тыла","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"sat","autonym":"ᱥᱟᱱᱛᱟᱲᱤ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"sc","autonym":"sardu","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"scn","autonym":"sicilianu","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"sco","autonym":"Scots","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"sd","autonym":"سنڌي","dir":"rtl"},{"lang":"se","autonym":"davvisámegiella","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"sg","autonym":"Sängö","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"sgs","autonym":"žemaitėška","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"sh","autonym":"srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"shi","autonym":"Taclḥit","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"shn","autonym": "ၽႃႇသႃႇတႆး ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"si","autonym":"සිංහල","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"sk","autonym":"slovenčina","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"skr","autonym":"سرائیکی","dir":"rtl"},{"lang":"sl","autonym":"slovenščina","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"sm","autonym":"Gagana Samoa","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"smn","autonym":"anarâškielâ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"sn","autonym":"chiShona","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"so","autonym":"Soomaaliga","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"sq","autonym":"shqip","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"sr","autonym":"српски / srpski","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"srn","autonym":"Sranantongo","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ss","autonym":"SiSwati","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"st","autonym":"Sesotho","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"stq","autonym":"Seeltersk","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"su","autonym":"Sunda","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"sv","autonym":"svenska","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"sw","autonym":"Kiswahili","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"szl","autonym":"ślůnski","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ta","autonym":"தமிழ்","dir":"ltr"},{"lang": "tay","autonym":"Tayal","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"tcy","autonym":"ತುಳು","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"tdd","autonym":"ᥖᥭᥰ ᥖᥬᥲ ᥑᥨᥒᥰ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"te","autonym":"తెలుగు","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"tet","autonym":"tetun","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"tg","autonym":"тоҷикӣ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"th","autonym":"ไทย","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ti","autonym":"ትግርኛ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"tk","autonym":"Türkmençe","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"tl","autonym":"Tagalog","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"tly","autonym":"tolışi","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"tn","autonym":"Setswana","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"to","autonym":"lea faka-Tonga","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"tpi","autonym":"Tok Pisin","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"trv","autonym":"Seediq","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ts","autonym":"Xitsonga","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"tt","autonym":"татарча / tatarça","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"tum","autonym":"chiTumbuka","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"tw","autonym":"Twi","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ty","autonym":"reo tahiti","dir": "ltr"},{"lang":"tyv","autonym":"тыва дыл","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"udm","autonym":"удмурт","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ur","autonym":"اردو","dir":"rtl"},{"lang":"uz","autonym":"oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"ve","autonym":"Tshivenda","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"vec","autonym":"vèneto","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"vep","autonym":"vepsän kel’","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"vi","autonym":"Tiếng Việt","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"vls","autonym":"West-Vlams","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"vo","autonym":"Volapük","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"vro","autonym":"võro","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"wa","autonym":"walon","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"war","autonym":"Winaray","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"wo","autonym":"Wolof","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"wuu","autonym":"吴语","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"xal","autonym":"хальмг","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"xh","autonym":"isiXhosa","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"xmf","autonym":"მარგალური","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"yi","autonym":"ייִדיש","dir":"rtl"},{"lang":"yo","autonym": "Yorùbá","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"yue","autonym":"粵語","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"za","autonym":"Vahcuengh","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"zgh","autonym":"ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ ⵜⴰⵏⴰⵡⴰⵢⵜ","dir":"ltr"},{"lang":"zu","autonym":"isiZulu","dir":"ltr"}],"wgSectionTranslationTargetLanguages":["ace","ady","alt","am","ami","an","ang","ann","anp","ar","ary","arz","as","ast","av","avk","awa","ay","az","azb","ba","ban","bar","bbc","bcl","bdr","be","bew","bg","bho","bi","bjn","blk","bm","bn","bo","bpy","br","bs","btm","bug","ca","cdo","ce","ceb","ch","chr","ckb","co","cr","crh","cs","cu","cy","da","dag","de","dga","din","diq","dsb","dtp","dv","dz","ee","el","eml","eo","es","et","eu","fa","fat","ff","fi","fj","fo","fon","fr","frp","frr","fur","fy","gag","gan","gcr","gl","glk","gn","gom","gor","gpe","gu","guc","gur","guw","gv","ha","hak","haw","he","hi","hif","hr","hsb","ht","hu","hy","hyw","ia","iba","ie","ig","igl","ilo","io","is","it","iu","ja","jam","jv","ka","kaa","kab","kbd","kbp","kcg", "kg","kge","ki","kk","kl","km","kn","ko","koi","krc","ks","ku","kus","kv","kw","ky","lad","lb","lez","lg","li","lij","lld","lmo","ln","lo","lt","ltg","lv","mad","mai","map-bms","mdf","mg","mhr","mi","min","mk","ml","mn","mni","mnw","mos","mr","mrj","ms","mt","mwl","my","myv","mzn","nah","nan","nap","nb","nds","nds-nl","ne","new","nia","nl","nn","nqo","nr","nso","ny","oc","om","or","os","pa","pag","pam","pap","pcd","pcm","pdc","pl","pms","pnb","ps","pt","pwn","qu","rm","rn","ro","rsk","rue","rup","rw","sa","sah","sat","sc","scn","sco","sd","se","sg","sgs","sh","shi","shn","si","sk","skr","sl","sm","smn","sn","so","sq","sr","srn","ss","st","stq","su","sv","sw","szl","ta","tay","tcy","tdd","te","tet","tg","th","ti","tk","tl","tly","tn","to","tpi","tr","trv","ts","tt","tum","tw","ty","tyv","udm","ur","uz","ve","vec","vep","vi","vls","vo","vro","wa","war","wo","wuu","xal","xh","xmf","yi","yo","yue","za","zgh","zh","zu"],"isLanguageSearcherCXEntrypointEnabled":true,"mintEntrypointLanguages": ["ace","ast","azb","bcl","bjn","bh","crh","ff","fon","ig","is","ki","ks","lmo","min","sat","ss","tn","vec"],"wgWikibaseItemId":"Q2577553","wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["brands","architecture","bitness","fullVersionList","mobile","model","platform","platformVersion"],"GEHomepageSuggestedEditsEnableTopics":true,"wgGETopicsMatchModeEnabled":false,"wgGEStructuredTaskRejectionReasonTextInputEnabled":false,"wgGELevelingUpEnabledForUser":false,"wgMinervaPermissions":{"watchable":true,"watch":false},"wgMinervaFeatures":{"beta":false,"donate":true,"mobileOptionsLink":true,"categories":false,"pageIssues":true,"talkAtTop":true,"historyInPageActions":false,"overflowSubmenu":false,"tabsOnSpecials":true,"personalMenu":false,"mainMenuExpanded":false,"echo":true,"nightMode":true},"wgMinervaDownloadNamespaces":[0]};RLSTATE={"ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles": "ready","skins.minerva.styles":"ready","skins.minerva.content.styles.images":"ready","mediawiki.hlist":"ready","skins.minerva.codex.styles":"ready","skins.minerva.icons":"ready","skins.minerva.amc.styles":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready","mobile.init.styles":"ready","ext.relatedArticles.styles":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready","ext.wikimediaBadges":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["ext.cite.ux-enhancements","site","mediawiki.page.ready","skins.minerva.scripts","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.gadget.switcher","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","ext.popups","mobile.init","ext.echo.centralauth","ext.relatedArticles.readMore.bootstrap","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.cx.eventlogging.campaigns","ext.cx.entrypoints.mffrequentlanguages","ext.cx.entrypoints.languagesearcher.init","mw.externalguidance.init","ext.checkUser.clientHints","ext.quicksurveys.init", "ext.growthExperiments.SuggestedEditSession","wikibase.sidebar.tracking"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cext.relatedArticles.styles%7Cext.wikimediaBadges%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cmediawiki.hlist%7Cmobile.init.styles%7Cskins.minerva.amc.styles%7Cskins.minerva.codex.styles%7Cskins.minerva.content.styles.images%7Cskins.minerva.icons%2Cstyles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=minerva"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=minerva"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=minerva"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.4"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta name="theme-color" content="#eaecf0"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=yes, minimum-scale=0.25, maximum-scale=5.0"> <meta property="og:title" content="Use–mention distinction - Wikipedia"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="manifest" href="/w/api.php?action=webapp-manifest"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit this page" href="/w/index.php?title=Use%E2%80%93mention_distinction&action=edit"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Wikipedia (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use%E2%80%93mention_distinction"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//login.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-Use–mention_distinction rootpage-Use–mention_distinction stable issues-group-B skin-minerva action-view skin--responsive mw-mf-amc-disabled mw-mf"><div id="mw-mf-viewport"> <div id="mw-mf-page-center"> <a class="mw-mf-page-center__mask" href="#"></a> <header class="header-container header-chrome"> <div class="minerva-header"> <nav class="navigation-drawer toggle-list view-border-box"> <input type="checkbox" id="main-menu-input" class="toggle-list__checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false" aria-labelledby="mw-mf-main-menu-button"> <label role="button" for="main-menu-input" id="mw-mf-main-menu-button" aria-hidden="true" data-event-name="ui.mainmenu" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet toggle-list__toggle"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--menu"></span> <span></span> </label> <div id="mw-mf-page-left" class="menu view-border-box"> <ul id="p-navigation" class="toggle-list__list"> <li class="toggle-list-item "> <a class="toggle-list-item__anchor menu__item--home" href="/wiki/Main_Page" data-mw="interface"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--home"></span> <span class="toggle-list-item__label">Home</span> </a> </li> <li class="toggle-list-item "> <a class="toggle-list-item__anchor menu__item--random" href="/wiki/Special:Random" data-mw="interface"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--die"></span> <span class="toggle-list-item__label">Random</span> </a> </li> <li class="toggle-list-item skin-minerva-list-item-jsonly"> <a class="toggle-list-item__anchor menu__item--nearby" href="/wiki/Special:Nearby" data-event-name="menu.nearby" data-mw="interface"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--mapPin"></span> <span class="toggle-list-item__label">Nearby</span> </a> </li> </ul> <ul id="p-personal" class="toggle-list__list"> <li class="toggle-list-item "> <a class="toggle-list-item__anchor menu__item--login" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Use%E2%80%93mention+distinction" data-event-name="menu.login" data-mw="interface"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--logIn"></span> <span class="toggle-list-item__label">Log in</span> </a> </li> </ul> <ul id="pt-preferences" class="toggle-list__list"> <li class="toggle-list-item skin-minerva-list-item-jsonly"> <a class="toggle-list-item__anchor menu__item--settings" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:MobileOptions&returnto=Use%E2%80%93mention+distinction" data-event-name="menu.settings" data-mw="interface"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--settings"></span> <span class="toggle-list-item__label">Settings</span> </a> </li> </ul> <ul id="p-donation" class="toggle-list__list"> <li class="toggle-list-item "> <a class="toggle-list-item__anchor menu__item--donate" href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en&utm_key=minerva" data-event-name="menu.donate" data-mw="interface"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--heart"></span> <span class="toggle-list-item__label">Donate</span> </a> </li> </ul> <ul class="hlist"> <li class="toggle-list-item "> <a class="toggle-list-item__anchor menu__item--about" href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About" data-mw="interface"> <span class="toggle-list-item__label">About Wikipedia</span> </a> </li> <li class="toggle-list-item "> <a class="toggle-list-item__anchor menu__item--disclaimers" href="/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer" data-mw="interface"> <span class="toggle-list-item__label">Disclaimers</span> </a> </li> </ul> </div> <label class="main-menu-mask" for="main-menu-input"></label> </nav> <div class="branding-box"> <a href="/wiki/Main_Page"> <span><img src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg" alt="Wikipedia" width="120" height="18" style="width: 7.5em; height: 1.125em;"/> </span> </a> </div> <form action="/w/index.php" method="get" class="minerva-search-form"> <div class="search-box"> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"/> <input class="search skin-minerva-search-trigger" id="searchInput" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia" aria-label="Search Wikipedia" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f"> <span class="search-box-icon-overlay"><span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--search"></span> </span> </div> <button id="searchIcon" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet skin-minerva-search-trigger"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--search"></span> <span>Search</span> </button> </form> <nav class="minerva-user-navigation" aria-label="User navigation"> </nav> </div> </header> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <div class="banner-container"> <div id="siteNotice"></div> </div> <div class="pre-content heading-holder"> <div class="page-heading"> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Use–mention distinction</span></h1> <div class="tagline"></div> </div> <ul id="p-associated-pages" class="minerva__tab-container"> <li class="minerva__tab selected"> <a class="minerva__tab-text" href="/wiki/Use%E2%80%93mention_distinction" rel="" data-event-name="tabs.subject">Article</a> </li> <li class="minerva__tab "> <a class="minerva__tab-text" href="/wiki/Talk:Use%E2%80%93mention_distinction" rel="discussion" data-event-name="tabs.talk">Talk</a> </li> </ul> <nav class="page-actions-menu"> <ul id="p-views" class="page-actions-menu__list"> <li id="language-selector" class="page-actions-menu__list-item"> <a role="button" href="#p-lang" data-mw="interface" data-event-name="menu.languages" title="Language" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet language-selector"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--language"></span> <span>Language</span> </a> </li> <li id="page-actions-watch" class="page-actions-menu__list-item"> <a role="button" id="ca-watch" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Use%E2%80%93mention+distinction" data-event-name="menu.watch" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet menu__item--page-actions-watch"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--star"></span> <span>Watch</span> </a> </li> <li id="page-actions-edit" class="page-actions-menu__list-item"> <a role="button" id="ca-edit" href="/w/index.php?title=Use%E2%80%93mention_distinction&action=edit" data-event-name="menu.edit" data-mw="interface" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet edit-page menu__item--page-actions-edit"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>Edit</span> </a> </li> </ul> </nav>  <div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="content"> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><script>function mfTempOpenSection(id){var block=document.getElementById("mf-section-"+id);block.className+=" open-block";block.previousSibling.className+=" open-block";}</script><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><section class="mf-section-0" id="mf-section-0"> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p><p>In <a href="/wiki/Analytic_philosophy" title="Analytic philosophy">analytic philosophy</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> a fundamental distinction is made between the use of a term and the mere mention of it.<sup id="cite_ref-Devitt99_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Devitt99-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Suine40p24_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Suine40p24-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Many philosophical works have been "vitiated by a failure to distinguish use and mention".<sup id="cite_ref-Devitt99_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Devitt99-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The distinction can sometimes be pedantic, especially in simple cases where it is obvious.<sup id="cite_ref-Devitt99_2-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Devitt99-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Derrida77p79_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Derrida77p79-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The distinction between use and mention can be illustrated with the word "cheese":<sup id="cite_ref-Devitt99_2-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Devitt99-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Suine40p24_3-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Suine40p24-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <ol><li>Cheese is derived from milk.</li> <li>"Cheese" is derived from the <a href="/wiki/Old_English" title="Old English">Old English</a> word <span title="Old English (ca. 450-1100)-language text"><i lang="ang">ċēse</i></span>.</li></ol> <p>The first sentence is a statement about the substance called "cheese": it <em>uses</em> the word "cheese" to refer to that substance. The second is a statement about the word "cheese" as a <a href="/wiki/Sign_(linguistics)" class="mw-redirect" title="Sign (linguistics)">signifier</a>: it <em>mentions</em> the word without using it to refer to anything other than itself. </p> <div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none"><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div> <ul> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#Overview"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Overview</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="#Commentary"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Commentary</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href="#Notes"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Notes</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="#References"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6"><a href="#Sources"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">Sources</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7"><a href="#Further_reading"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">Further reading</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8"><a href="#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">8</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </section><div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 section-heading" onclick="mfTempOpenSection(1)"><span class="indicator mf-icon mf-icon-expand mf-icon--small"></span><h2 id="Overview">Overview</h2><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Use%E2%80%93mention_distinction&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Overview" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div><section class="mf-section-1 collapsible-block" id="mf-section-1"> <p>In written language, <i>mentioned</i> words or phrases often appear between single or double <a href="/wiki/Quotation_marks" class="mw-redirect" title="Quotation marks">quotation marks</a> or in <a href="/wiki/Italics" class="mw-redirect" title="Italics">italics</a>. In philosophy, single quotation marks are typically used, while in other fields (such as linguistics) italics are more common.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Some style authorities, such as <a href="/wiki/Strunk_and_White" class="mw-redirect" title="Strunk and White">Strunk and White</a>, emphasize that mentioned words or phrases should be visually distinct. On the other hand, <i>used</i> words or phrases do not carry typographic markings.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The phenomenon of a term having different <a href="/wiki/References" class="mw-redirect" title="References">references</a> in various contexts was referred to as <i><a href="/wiki/Supposition_Theory" class="mw-redirect" title="Supposition Theory">suppositio</a></i> (substitution) by medieval logicians.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A substitution describes how a term is substituted in a sentence based on its referent. For nouns, a term can be used in different ways: </p> <ul><li>With a <i>concrete and real referent</i>:<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>a<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> "That is my <i>pig</i>." (personal supposition)</li> <li>With a <i>concrete but unreal referent</i>: "Santa Claus's <i>pig</i> is very big." (personal supposition)</li> <li>With a <i>generic referent</i>: "Any <i>pig</i> breathes air." (simple supposition)</li> <li>Metaphorically: "Your grandfather is a <i>pig</i>." (improper supposition)</li> <li>As a <i>pure term</i>: "<i>Pig</i> has only three letters." (material supposition)</li></ul> <p>The use–mention distinction is particularly significant in <a href="/wiki/Analytic_philosophy" title="Analytic philosophy">analytic philosophy</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Confusing use with mention can lead to misleading or incorrect statements, such as <a href="/wiki/Category_error" class="mw-redirect" title="Category error">category errors</a>. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Self-reference" title="Self-reference">Self-referential</a> statements also engage the use–mention distinction and are often central to logical paradoxes, such as <a href="/wiki/Quine%27s_paradox" title="Quine's paradox">Quine's paradox</a>. In mathematics, this concept appears in <a href="/wiki/G%C3%B6del%27s_incompleteness_theorem" class="mw-redirect" title="Gödel's incompleteness theorem">Gödel's incompleteness theorem</a>, where the <a href="/wiki/Diagonal_lemma" title="Diagonal lemma">diagonal lemma</a> plays a crucial role. </p> </section><div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 section-heading" onclick="mfTempOpenSection(2)"><span class="indicator mf-icon mf-icon-expand mf-icon--small"></span><h2 id="Commentary">Commentary</h2><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Use%E2%80%93mention_distinction&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Commentary" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div><section class="mf-section-2 collapsible-block" id="mf-section-2"> <p><a href="/wiki/Stanis%C5%82aw_Le%C5%9Bniewski" title="Stanisław Leśniewski">Stanisław Leśniewski</a> extensively employed this distinction, noting the fallacies that can result from confusing it in <a href="/wiki/Bertrand_Russell" title="Bertrand Russell">Russell</a> and <a href="/wiki/Alfred_North_Whitehead" title="Alfred North Whitehead">Whitehead</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Principia_Mathematica" title="Principia Mathematica">Principia Mathematica</a></i>.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><a href="/wiki/Donald_Davidson_(philosopher)" title="Donald Davidson (philosopher)">Donald Davidson</a> argued that quotation cannot always be treated as mere mention, giving examples where quotations carry both use and mention functions.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><a href="/wiki/Douglas_Hofstadter" title="Douglas Hofstadter">Douglas Hofstadter</a> explains the distinction between use and mention as follows:<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1244412712">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 32px}.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;margin-top:0}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{padding-left:1.6em}}</style><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>When a word is used to <i>refer</i> to something, it is being <i>used</i>. When a word is <i>quoted</i>, the focus is on its surface aspects, such as typography or phonetics, and it is being <i>mentioned</i>.</p></blockquote> <p>Issues arise when a mention itself is mentioned. Notating this with italics or repeated quotation marks can lead to ambiguity.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Some analytic philosophers have said the distinction "may seem rather pedantic".<sup id="cite_ref-Devitt99_2-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Devitt99-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In a <a href="/wiki/Limited_Inc" title="Limited Inc">1977 response to</a> analytic philosopher <a href="/wiki/John_Searle" title="John Searle">John Searle</a>, <a href="/wiki/Jacques_Derrida" title="Jacques Derrida">Jacques Derrida</a> mentioned the distinction as "rather laborious and problematical".<sup id="cite_ref-Derrida77p79_4-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Derrida77p79-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> </section><div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 section-heading" onclick="mfTempOpenSection(3)"><span class="indicator mf-icon mf-icon-expand mf-icon--small"></span><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Use%E2%80%93mention_distinction&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: See also" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div><section class="mf-section-3 collapsible-block" id="mf-section-3"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Haddocks%27_Eyes" title="Haddocks' Eyes">Haddocks' Eyes</a> – Nickname of the name of a song</li> <li><a href="/wiki/James_while_John_had_had_had_had_had_had_had_had_had_had_had_a_better_effect_on_the_teacher" title="James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher">James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher</a> – Grammatically correct sentence demonstrating lexical ambiguity</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Map%E2%80%93territory_relation" title="Map–territory relation">Map–territory relation</a> – Relationship between an object and a representation of that object</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Metalanguage" title="Metalanguage">Metalanguage</a> – Language used to describe another language</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pointer_(computer_programming)" title="Pointer (computer programming)">Pointer (computer programming)</a> – Object which stores memory addresses in a computer program</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Quasi-quotation" title="Quasi-quotation">Quasi-quotation</a> – Linguistic device in formal languages</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scare_quotes" title="Scare quotes">Scare quotes</a> – Quotation marks used to indicate non-standard usage</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sense_and_reference" title="Sense and reference">Sense and reference</a> – Distinction in the philosophy of language</li> <li><a href="/wiki/When_a_white_horse_is_not_a_horse" class="mw-redirect" title="When a white horse is not a horse">When a white horse is not a horse</a> – Chinese philosophical dialogue<span style="display:none" class="category-annotation-with-redirected-description">Pages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets</span></li></ul> </section><div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 section-heading" onclick="mfTempOpenSection(4)"><span class="indicator mf-icon mf-icon-expand mf-icon--small"></span><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Use%E2%80%93mention_distinction&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Notes" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div><section class="mf-section-4 collapsible-block" id="mf-section-4"> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-lower-alpha"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">This use of the word <i>concrete</i> is explained at <a href="/wiki/Abstract_and_concrete" title="Abstract and concrete">Abstract and concrete</a>.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> </section><div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 section-heading" onclick="mfTempOpenSection(5)"><span class="indicator mf-icon mf-icon-expand mf-icon--small"></span><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Use%E2%80%93mention_distinction&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: References" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div><section class="mf-section-5 collapsible-block" id="mf-section-5"> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239543626"><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Wheeler (2005) p. 568</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Devitt99-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Devitt99_2-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Devitt99_2-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Devitt99_2-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Devitt99_2-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Devitt99_2-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Devitt and Sterelny (1999) pp. 40–1</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Suine40p24-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Suine40p24_3-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Suine40p24_3-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/wiki/W.V._Quine" class="mw-redirect" title="W.V. Quine">W.V. Quine</a> (1940) p. 24</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Derrida77p79-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Derrida77p79_4-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Derrida77p79_4-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFDerrida1977" class="citation book cs1">Derrida, Jacques (1977). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=-ANhg9zaAtIC&pg=PA79"><i>Limited Inc</i></a>. Northwestern University Press. p. 79. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780810107885" title="Special:BookSources/9780810107885"><bdi>9780810107885</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Limited+Inc&rft.pages=79&rft.pub=Northwestern+University+Press&rft.date=1977&rft.isbn=9780810107885&rft.aulast=Derrida&rft.aufirst=Jacques&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3D-ANhg9zaAtIC%26pg%3DPA79&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AUse%E2%80%93mention+distinction" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">For example, <i>Butcher's Copy-Editing: The Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Copy-editors and Proofreaders,</i> 4th edition, by Judith Butcher, Caroline Drake, and Maureen Leach. Cambridge University Press, 2006. <i>Butcher's</i> recommends against the practice, but <i>The Chicago Manual of Style,</i> section 7.58 (15th edition, 2003), indicates that philosophers use single quotes for a similar distinction, though it is not explained in these terms.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWilson2011" class="citation web cs1">Wilson, Shomir (2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://drum.lib.umd.edu/handle/1903/11694">"A Computational Theory of the Use-Mention Distinction in Natural Language"</a>. PhD Dissertation, University of Maryland<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">16 February</span> 2013</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=A+Computational+Theory+of+the+Use-Mention+Distinction+in+Natural+Language&rft.pub=PhD+Dissertation%2C+University+of+Maryland&rft.date=2011&rft.aulast=Wilson&rft.aufirst=Shomir&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fdrum.lib.umd.edu%2Fhandle%2F1903%2F11694&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AUse%E2%80%93mention+distinction" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">See Read, Stephen (2006). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/medieval-terms">Medieval Theories: Properties of Terms</a>. In <a href="/wiki/Stanford_Encyclopedia_of_Philosophy" title="Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy">Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation encyclopaedia cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/quotation/#2.2">"Quotation"</a>. <i>The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy</i>. 16 July 2005<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">5 October</span> 2009</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Quotation&rft.btitle=The+Stanford+Encyclopedia+of+Philosophy&rft.date=2005-07-16&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fplato.stanford.edu%2Fentries%2Fquotation%2F%232.2&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AUse%E2%80%93mention+distinction" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSimons2006" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Peter_Simons_(academic)" title="Peter Simons (academic)">Simons, Peter</a> (2006). "Leśniewski, Stanisław". In Borchert, Donald M (ed.). <a href="/wiki/Encyclopedia_of_Philosophy" class="mw-redirect" title="Encyclopedia of Philosophy"><i>Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2nd edition</i></a> (e-book ed.). Thomson Gale. p. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaphil04borc/page/n295">292</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-02-866072-2" title="Special:BookSources/0-02-866072-2"><bdi>0-02-866072-2</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Le%C5%9Bniewski%2C+Stanis%C5%82aw&rft.btitle=Encyclopedia+of+Philosophy%2C+2nd+edition&rft.pages=292&rft.edition=e-book&rft.pub=Thomson+Gale&rft.date=2006&rft.isbn=0-02-866072-2&rft.aulast=Simons&rft.aufirst=Peter&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AUse%E2%80%93mention+distinction" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFDavidson1979" class="citation journal cs1">Davidson, Donald (March 1979). "Quotation". <i>Theory and Decision</i>. <b>11</b> (1): 27–40. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF00126690">10.1007/BF00126690</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0040-5833">0040-5833</a>. <a href="/wiki/S2CID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="S2CID (identifier)">S2CID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:261211103">261211103</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Theory+and+Decision&rft.atitle=Quotation&rft.volume=11&rft.issue=1&rft.pages=27-40&rft.date=1979-03&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.semanticscholar.org%2FCorpusID%3A261211103%23id-name%3DS2CID&rft.issn=0040-5833&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1007%2FBF00126690&rft.aulast=Davidson&rft.aufirst=Donald&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AUse%E2%80%93mention+distinction" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFHofstadter1985" class="citation book cs1">Hofstadter, Douglas R. (1985). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/metamagicalthema0000hofs"><i>Metamagical Themas</i></a>. p. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/metamagicalthema0000hofs/page/9">9</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Metamagical+Themas&rft.pages=9&rft.date=1985&rft.aulast=Hofstadter&rft.aufirst=Douglas+R.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fmetamagicalthema0000hofs&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AUse%E2%80%93mention+distinction" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBoolos1999" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/George_Boolos" title="George Boolos">Boolos, George</a> (1999). <i>Logic, Logic, and Logic</i>. p. 398. <q>In this 1995 paper, Boolos discussed ambiguities in using quotation marks as part of a <a href="/wiki/Formal_language" title="Formal language">formal language</a>, and proposed a way of distinguishing levels of mentioning using a finite number of marks.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Logic%2C+Logic%2C+and+Logic&rft.pages=398&rft.date=1999&rft.aulast=Boolos&rft.aufirst=George&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AUse%E2%80%93mention+distinction" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> </section><div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 section-heading" onclick="mfTempOpenSection(6)"><span class="indicator mf-icon mf-icon-expand mf-icon--small"></span><h2 id="Sources">Sources</h2><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Use%E2%80%93mention_distinction&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Sources" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div><section class="mf-section-6 collapsible-block" id="mf-section-6"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Derrida" class="mw-redirect" title="Derrida">Derrida, Jacques</a> (1977) <i>Limited Inc abc ...</i> in <i><a href="/wiki/Limited_Inc" title="Limited Inc">Limited Inc</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Michael_Devitt" title="Michael Devitt">Michael Devitt</a>, <a href="/wiki/Kim_Sterelny" title="Kim Sterelny">Kim Sterelny</a> (1999) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=JwuHtulKe6AC&pg=PA40"><i>Language and reality: an introduction to the philosophy of language</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/W.V._Quine" class="mw-redirect" title="W.V. Quine">W.V. Quine</a> (1940) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=5glxwVt_srEC"><i>Mathematical Logic</i></a>, §4 <i>Use versus mention</i>, pp. 23–5</li> <li>Wheeler, Samuel (2005) <i>Davidson as Derridean: Analytic Philosophy as Deconstruction</i> in <i>Cardozo Law Review</i> Vol. 27–2 November 2005 <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cardozolawreview.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79%3Atable-of-contents-27-2&Itemid=14"><i>Symposium: Derrida/America, The Present State of America's Europe</i></a></li></ul> </section><div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 section-heading" onclick="mfTempOpenSection(7)"><span class="indicator mf-icon mf-icon-expand mf-icon--small"></span><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Use%E2%80%93mention_distinction&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Further reading" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div><section class="mf-section-7 collapsible-block" id="mf-section-7"> <ul><li>A. W. Moore (1986) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/pss/3328410"><i>How Significant Is the Use/Mention Distinction?</i></a> in <i>Analysis</i> Vol. 46, No. 4 (Oct. 1986), pp. 173–179</li></ul> </section><div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 section-heading" onclick="mfTempOpenSection(8)"><span class="indicator mf-icon mf-icon-expand mf-icon--small"></span><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Use%E2%80%93mention_distinction&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: External links" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div><section class="mf-section-8 collapsible-block" id="mf-section-8"> <ul><li>"<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20050305154415/http://www.unconventional-wisdom.com/WAW/ROBERT.html">Robert And The Use-Mention Distinction</a>", by William A. Wisdom, c. 2002</li> <li>"<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.xenodochy.org/gs/quotes.html">On the use of Quotation Marks</a>", by Ralph E. Kenyon Jr. PhD, 29 December 1992, Revised 21 October 1993, Published in <i>ETC: A Review of General Semantics</i>, Vol. 51 No 1, Spring 1994. (accessed: 26 August 2006).</li> <li>"<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_9w8JougLQ">The evolution of Confusion</a>", talk by <a href="/wiki/Daniel_Dennett" title="Daniel Dennett">Daniel Dennett</a> AAI 2009, 4 October 2009</li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list-with-group{text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid}.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-image,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-list{border-top:2px solid #fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title{background-color:#ccf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div>    </section></div> <noscript><img src="https://login.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1&mobile=1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Use–mention_distinction&oldid=1259714255">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Use–mention_distinction&oldid=1259714255</a>"</div></div> </div> <div class="post-content" id="page-secondary-actions"> </div> </main> <footer class="mw-footer minerva-footer" role="contentinfo"> <a class="last-modified-bar" href="/w/index.php?title=Use%E2%80%93mention_distinction&action=history"> <div class="post-content last-modified-bar__content"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon-size-medium minerva-icon--modified-history"></span> <span class="last-modified-bar__text modified-enhancement" data-user-name="Timwi" data-user-gender="male" data-timestamp="1732642816"> <span>Last edited on 26 November 2024, at 17:40</span> </span> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon-size-small minerva-icon--expand"></span> </div> </a> <div class="post-content footer-content"> <div id='mw-data-after-content'> <div class="read-more-container"></div> </div> <div id="p-lang"> <h4>Languages</h4> <section> <ul id="p-variants" class="minerva-languages"></ul> <ul class="minerva-languages"><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distinci%C3%B3_entre_%C3%BAs_i_menci%C3%B3" title="Distinció entre ús i menció – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Distinció entre ús i menció" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-et mw-list-item"><a href="https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasutamine_ja_mainimine" title="Kasutamine ja mainimine – Estonian" lang="et" hreflang="et" data-title="Kasutamine ja mainimine" data-language-autonym="Eesti" data-language-local-name="Estonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Eesti</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distinci%C3%B3n_entre_uso_y_menci%C3%B3n" title="Distinción entre uso y mención – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Distinción entre uso y mención" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%82%AC%EC%9A%A9-%EC%96%B8%EA%B8%89_%EA%B5%AC%EB%B6%84" title="사용-언급 구분 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="사용-언급 구분" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ms mw-list-item"><a href="https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pembezaan_gunaan-sebutan" title="Pembezaan gunaan-sebutan – Malay" lang="ms" hreflang="ms" data-title="Pembezaan gunaan-sebutan" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Melayu" data-language-local-name="Malay" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Melayu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zelfnoemfunctie" title="Zelfnoemfunctie – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Zelfnoemfunctie" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BD%BF%E7%94%A8%E3%81%A8%E8%A8%80%E5%8F%8A%E3%81%AE%E5%8C%BA%E5%88%A5" title="使用と言及の区別 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="使用と言及の区別" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru badge-Q70894304 mw-list-item" title=""><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%98%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B7%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5_%E2%80%94_%D1%83%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5" title="Использование — упоминание – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Использование — упоминание" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kullanma-s%C3%B6zetme_ayr%C4%B1m%C4%B1" title="Kullanma-sözetme ayrımı – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Kullanma-sözetme ayrımı" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BD%BF%E7%94%A8-%E6%8F%90%E5%8F%8A%E5%8D%80%E5%88%A5" title="使用-提及區別 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="使用-提及區別" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li></ul> </section> </div> <div class="minerva-footer-logo"><img src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg" alt="Wikipedia" width="120" height="18" style="width: 7.5em; height: 1.125em;"/> </div> <ul id="footer-info" class="footer-info hlist hlist-separated"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 26 November 2024, at 17:40<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Content is available under <a class="external" rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en">CC BY-SA 4.0</a> unless otherwise noted.</li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places" class="footer-places hlist hlist-separated"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About">About Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-contact"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us">Contact Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikipedia.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-terms-use"><a href="https://foundation.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use">Terms of Use</a></li> <li id="footer-places-desktop-toggle"><a id="mw-mf-display-toggle" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Use%E2%80%93mention_distinction&mobileaction=toggle_view_desktop" data-event-name="switch_to_desktop">Desktop</a></li> </ul> </div> </footer> </div> </div> <div class="mw-notification-area" data-mw="interface"></div>  <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.codfw.main-6df7948d6c-kcsb9","wgBackendResponseTime":190,"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.368","walltime":"0.487","ppvisitednodes":{"value":2584,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":43735,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":1876,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":12,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":2,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":1,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":46689,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":0,"limit":400},"timingprofile":["100.00% 428.921 1 -total"," 25.77% 110.517 2 Template:Reflist"," 21.42% 91.858 1 Template:Lang"," 18.76% 80.455 4 Template:Cite_book"," 15.68% 67.274 2 Template:Navbox"," 15.50% 66.464 1 Template:Philosophy_of_language"," 15.07% 64.638 9 Template:Annotated_link"," 12.77% 54.770 1 Template:Short_description"," 7.67% 32.890 2 Template:Pagetype"," 3.01% 12.904 7 Template:Main_other"]},"scribunto":{"limitreport-timeusage":{"value":"0.240","limit":"10.000"},"limitreport-memusage":{"value":16294503,"limit":52428800}},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-api-ext.codfw.main-5649595d6f-rxdlv","timestamp":"20241126174016","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","name":"Use\u2013mention distinction","url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Use%E2%80%93mention_distinction","sameAs":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q2577553","mainEntity":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q2577553","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/static\/images\/wmf-hor-googpub.png"}},"datePublished":"2003-01-23T00:45:29Z","dateModified":"2024-11-26T17:40:16Z","headline":"in analytic philosophy, a distinction between using a word or phrase and mentioning it"}</script><script>(window.NORLQ=window.NORLQ||[]).push(function(){var ns,i,p,img;ns=document.getElementsByTagName('noscript');for(i=0;i<ns.length;i++){p=ns[i].nextSibling;if(p&&p.className&&p.className.indexOf('lazy-image-placeholder')>-1){img=document.createElement('img');img.setAttribute('src',p.getAttribute('data-src'));img.setAttribute('width',p.getAttribute('data-width'));img.setAttribute('height',p.getAttribute('data-height'));img.setAttribute('alt',p.getAttribute('data-alt'));p.parentNode.replaceChild(img,p);}}});</script> </body> </html>