Deixis

Deixis

1. One of the most basic things we do with utterances

   • Indicates something in the inmediate context
   • They are among the first forms to be spoken by children
   • They interpretation depens on the speaker and hearer sharing the same context
   • Frequently face-to-face interaction

2. There are three types

   • Temporal deixis
     • Indicates the speaker's utterance and the time of the speaker's voice being heard
       • Beers at 7:30 On Sunday? Yes, I'll see you then
     • Specifies a certain time, taking as reference the time when the message is given
       • Tomorrow, I must bring glue and scissors
       • We meet tonight at my house
     • It is expressed by adverbs, idioms and adverbial phrases of past, present and future
       • "yesterday", "today", "tomorrow", "tonight", "next week", "last week", "this week"
     • It is important to know the utterance time
       • I was with her yesterday
     • One basic type of temporal deixis is the choice of verb tense
       • They will finish that later
       • They are finishing that now
       • They have already finished that
   • Spatial deixis
     • It is used to indicate the location of people and things
       • Here we are comfortably seated
       • That document belongs to me
       • She will come again, believe me
     • Location from the speaker's perspective can be fixed mentally as well as physically
       • "Here", "there", "come", "go", "this", "that"; adverbs and verbs that express location
     • The speaker can manipulate the location
       • I am not here now
     • Direct and indirect speech are used a lot in spatial deixis
       • However, it is used in temporal and person deixis too
       • e.g. "I will come to this park tomorrow" Ind. Sp. He said he would go to that park the next day
   • Person deixis
     • Just involves the speaker and the addressee mentioned
       • She is beautiful
       • I think this can serve
       • He is your cousin
     • The simplicity of these forms disguises the complexity of their use
     • Operates on a basic three-part division exemplified by I,you and he,she or it
       • First person "I"
       • Second person "you"
       • Third person "he, she, it"
     • Distinction between forms for a familiar versus a non-familiar addressee in some languages
       • i.e. Would you like a drink? Fam: Yes Sir, please Non-fam: Yes, fella let's go
     • Distinctions between social status
       • Example, in Spanish tu and usted