Deixis Module Lesson 7

A definition of deixis Deixis is “pointing language”. We use deictic expressions or indexicals to signal a referent and relate that referent to common ground shared by the speaker and the addressee. They situate the speaker and the addressee in relation to each other and the world around them. In other words, deixis helps us to identify things in time and space

Person deixis a) Terms referring to speaker and addressee: I, me, my,mine, you, your yours Is there a difference between these: - I want to see you, you but not you - you can never tell if they are boys are girls these days b) Terms not referring to speaker or addressee he, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its, they, them, their, theirs c) Honorifics -Your Majesty, sir, These terms of social deixis indicate social status

Time deixis Expressions referring to time: five minutes ago tomorrow last week next Monday Choice of tense: - present tense - he doesn’t know this is proximal - past tenseyesterday I slept for 10 hours this communicates distance from current time - conditionalsif I won the lottery I would … this communicates distance from current reality

Spatial deixis Spatial deixis refers to proximity to or distance from the speaker. These can be single words … here there this that … or expressionstwo kilometres from the school 500 meters away … and words/expressions referring to direction and/or movement to my left under the carpet fetch, take, bring she came home she went home

Interpretation of deictic terms We interpret deictic terms by looking at aspects of context such as - who is speaking - the time of speaking - the location of the speaker - gestures or body language of the speaker - the topic of the discourse