The present work is intended as a contribution towards the clarification of one of the problems with which man has preoccupied himself at all times: the relationship between words and things. It is not a philosophical work although the problem is often considered to be primarily philosophical in nature. But the problem has many aspects. Some of these are philosophical, some are pragmatical, some are sociological – and some are linguistic. It is the latter aspects that will be treated here, although some notice will be taken of what philosophers have had to say on the question.

My interest in the problem was first awakened when I participated in a research seminar on the problems of ‘linguistic representation’, instigated and led by Professor Gunnar Bech, in 1968. Owing to his sad illness, which to the detriment of us all has since forced him to retire prematurely, no very clear conclusions emerged from the seminar, so when a few years later the British Council and the Danish Research Council for the Humanities made it financially possible for me to devote three years to full-time research, I began to explore the area on my own. I am grateful to these two bodies for their support. I am likewise grateful to the Department of English at the University of Copenhagen for supporting my application for such a long leave of absence from my departmental duties.