Full Idea
Strawson's early work gave a new direction to the study of reference by stressing that it is a social phenomenon.
Gist of Idea
Reference is mainly a social phenomenon
Source
report of Peter F. Strawson (On Referring [1950]) by Mark Sainsbury - The Essence of Reference 18.2
Book Reference
'Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Language', ed/tr. Lepore,E/Smith,B [OUP 2008], p.402
A Reaction
The question is whether speakers refer, or sentences, or expressions, or propositions. The modern consensus seems to be that some parts of language are inherently referring, but speakers combine such tools with context. Sounds right.