"This work is an inquiry into one of the most basic themes in the philosophy of language referential uptake, that is, the question of what counts as properly 'understanding' a referring act in communication. The particular line of research which the author pursues goes back to Strawson's work on re-identification, but the immediate influence is that of Gareth Evans. It is argued that traditional and recent proposals fail to account for success in referential communication. A novel account is developed which resembles Evans' hybrid account in combining an external success condition with a Fregean one. Yet in contrast to Evans more emphasis is put on the action-enabling side of communication." "The book will be of interest to philosophers, cognitive scientists, and semanticists."--Jacket.