Anchoring language in reality: Observations on reference and representation

The articles by Glenberg and Robertson and by Roth try to advance radical p rinciples about reference and meaning. Glenberg and Robertson show that ind exing is required to disambiguate verbal instructions to the point where th ey can be carried out. Roth's data show that even young students understand that an indexical expression that ostensibly refers to an analog represent ation in actuality refers to its referent. These are valuable insights, but they do not add up to a radical new view of language.