Differential relations alone can't explain reference. Two languages with identical contrastive structures ('p/b' distinction) still reference the same external world objects differently.

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Contrastive structures(as used in linguistics): Systems where meaning is created by distinguishing one element from another—like how 'p' and 'b' are different sounds that create different meanings in words.
Differential relations(as used in linguistics and philosophy of language): The idea that meaning or identity comes from how things differ from each other, rather than from what they are in themselves. For example, the letter 'p' means something partly because it's different from 'b'.
p/b distinction(as used in linguistics and philosophy of language): The difference between the sounds 'p' and 'b' in language—a concrete example of how two different sounds contrast with each other to create different words and meanings.
reference(Distinguished from intension in the context of possible worlds semantics): The actual-world referent of an expression; what the expression picks out in the actual world.

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