Deixis and Distance

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Pragmatics: Deixis and Distance

http://www.kau.edu.sa/SBANJER http://wwwdrshadiabanjar.blogspot.com

DR. Shadia Y. Banjar

By: Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar

PRAGMATICS

DR. Shadia Y. Banjar 2

The word ‘deixis’ is a technical term (from Greek) for one of the most basic things we do with utterances, which means ‘pointing’ via language.'

Deixis

Definition

3DR. Shadia Y. Banjar

1: any linguistic form used to accomplish ‘pointing’ is called a deictic expression.

2: deictic expressions are also known as indexicals.

Definitions


Deictic expressions are meaningful in a given context.

They are among the first words acquired by children.

In order to be interpreted correctly, the speaker and listener have to share the same context.

They are particularly useful in face-to-face communication.

Deictic expressions

DR. Shadia Y. Banjar 5

Types of Deixis

PERSON DEIXIS : Any expression used to point to a person ( me, you, him, them) is an example of PERSON DEIXIS.

SPACE/SPATIAL/PLACE DEIXIS : Words used to point to a location ( here, there) are examples of PLACE DEIXIS.

TIME/TEMPORAL DEIXIS : The expression used to point to a time ( now, then, tonight, last week, yesterday) are examples of TIME DEIXIS.


: DISCOURSE DEIXIS: any expression used to refer to earlier or forthcoming segments of the discourse: in the previous/next paragraph, or Have you heard this joke?

SOCIAL DEIXIS: honorifics (forms to show respect such as Professor Li).


Person Deixis

a speech event includes at least two persons: – first person = speaker– second person = addressee

If the two persons do not only refer to themselves while talking, there is a third person ( = the person they are talking about), that does not have to take part in the conversation.Usually the third person is not grammatically marked, because the only two persons of importance are the first person (speaker = most important) and the second person (addressee = less important).only in English: the suffix (-s) for the third person.The traditional category of plural is not symmetrically applied to first person (we) in the way it is to the third (they)– In addition there are two first person `plural` pronouns, corresponding

to `we-inclusive-of-addressee` and `we-exclusive-of-addressee`:Let`s go to the cinema.= `we-inclusive-of-addressee`Let`s go to see you tomorrow. =`we-exclusive-of-addressee`

(Levinson :1983)


Pronouns:grammatical category for a person: personal pronouns– All languages have personal pronouns or at least

words, that refer to the participants of the speech act.

The pronouns of the first (I-my-mine) and second person (you- your-yours) are deictic:– reference to the speaking person.

It is also possible to have deictic pronouns for the third person.Definite and specific pronouns: this, that, those, or these.Indefinite and specific pronouns: somebody , something , who, what.Indefinite and non-specific pronouns: someone , something , nobody, nothing.

Person Deixis


Place Deixisconcerns the locations relative to anchorage points in the speech event (speaker = centre),two basic ways of referring to objects: by describing or naming them and by locating them,locations can be specified relative to other objects:– The station is two hundred yards from the college.

locations can be specified relative to the location of participants;– It's two hundred yards away.

some pure place-deictic words: here and there (adverbs); this and that (demonstrative pronouns);=> symbolic usage of here = pragmatically given unit of space that includes the location of the speaker;– I'm writing to say I'm having a marvellous time here.

Adverbs: here and there = contrast on a proximal/distal dimension;– here = proximal (near); there = distal ( more distant)

Bring that here and take this there.Demonstrative pronouns are more clearly organized in a proximal/distal dimension.


this = the object in a pragmatically given area close to the speaker's location,that = the object beyond the pragmatically given area close to the speaker's location,some languages have demonstratives with 3 and 4 way distinctions on the proximal-distal dimension;( North West American language Tlingit) – demonstratives distinguish between – this one right here– this on nearby– that one over there– that one way over there

Directions: to the left from; to the right from

Place Deixis


motion verbs = signs of place deixis– come vs. go makes distinction between the direction

of motionHe's coming = he is moving towards the speaker's location.He's going = he is moving away from the speaker's location.I'm coming = the speaker is moving towards the location of the addressee.

– come = movement towards either the location of the speaker, or towards the location of the addressee.

Place Deixis


Time Deixis

makes ultimate reference to participant-role=> ex.: now = the time at which the speaker is producing the utterance containing “now”.distinguish the moment of utterance (= coding time (CT)) and the moment of reception (= receiving time (RT)).in the canonical situation of utterance (deictic simultaneity)=> CT =RT – It is cold outside. (normal speech act)

complexities in the usage of tense, time adverbs and other time-deictic morphemes (letter writing, or pre- recording of media programmes)=> deictic centre remains on the speaker and CT:– This programme, is being recorded today, Wednesday April 1st, to be

relayed next Thursday.=> deictic centre is projected on the addressee and RT:– This programme was recorded last Wednesday, April 1st, to be relayed

today. (deictic centre was projected into the future)


Tenses:Tenses = time relations in connection to a given point in time– present = an event/action simultaneously to the speech act (work)– past = an event/action before the speech act (worked)– future = an event/action after the speech act (you will work)

there are language systems with more than 3 possibilities – they distinguish between levels of past, dependent on their distance

from the speaker's utterance – tense of immediate past

=> ex.: frz. Jean vient de resoudre le problème. John has just been able to solve the problem.

difference between absolute tense – absolute tense refers immediately to the time of the speaker's

utterance: simple past, simple presentRelative tenses refer to other tenses: – past perfect: event refers to another event, that happens afterwards

Time Deixis


tenseless eternal sentences: – Two and two is four.

languages without true tenses: – Chinese

time deixis is relevant to various other deictic elements in language:– ex.: greetings

=> Good morning.can only be used in the morning

– expressions:=> the former president, my ex-husband

Time Deixis


Deictic center: the time of the utterance’s time; the place of the

utterance’s place, the person just giving the utterance.

“Near speaker” —“away from speaker”

︱︱ Proximal distal ︱︱ This, here, now that, there, then


also called text deixis. concerns the use of expressions referring to apart of the discourse.while within time deixis: next week, last week,discourse deixis: in the next chapter, in the last paragraph.in discourse deixis, there are many words and phrases in English that indicate the relationship between utterance and the prior discourse:– but, therefore, in conclusion, to the contrary, still,

however, anyway, well, besides, actually, all in all, so, after all

– all these words make reference to a statement, sentence etc. that was said before

some languages have morphemes that mark such discourse notions

Discourse Deixis


concerns those aspects of language structure that encode the social identities of participants, or the social relationship between them,but these usages are only relevant to the topic of social deixis in so far as they are grammaticalized:– polite pronouns e.g.“Vous”, address titles.

social relations concern in all those examples the relation between the speaker and the addressee, especially the countries. in East Asia are known for having several levels of politeness, based on the social difference between the persons concerned.

Social Deixis


• Certain words like here there, this, that , now , then, yesterday as well as most pronouns such as I , you, him, her , them can only be understood if we know about the context in which they are used.

• For example, the sentence, “ you’ll have to bring that back tomorrow, because they aren’t here”, out of context will be quite unintelligible.

• Because this sentence contain large number of certain expressions ( Deixis) which depend for their interpretation on the immediate physical context in which they are uttered.

Using Deixis


All these expressions have to be interpreted in terms of what person , place or time the speaker has in mind. There is a broad distinction between what is marked as distant( that ,there, then). It is also possible to mark whether the movement is happening towards the speaker’s location( come) or away from speaker’s location (go) If you are looking for someone and he or she appears moving towards you, you tend to say “ Here she Comes! If , however, she/he is moving away from you in the distance, you are more like to say There she goes!


People can actually use Deixis to have fun. The coffee shop owner who puts up a big sign that reads “ Free snacks Tomorrow” ( to get you to return to his shop) can always claim that you are one day too early for the meal.


Deixis and GrammarGrammar :

• the study of the rules governing the use of a given natural language, and, as such, is a field of linguistics. •Traditionally, grammar included morphology and syntax. •In modern linguistics these subfields are complemented by phonology, semantics, and pragmatics.

Pragmatics: •how do people use sentences in communication,

• Characterize acceptable/unacceptable use.• It is no longer possible to consider sentences in isolation: we need to take

the context into account.• We look beyond truth-conditional meanings.

Deixis: • those words in a language that entirely depend on context (Fromkin, et.

al., 1991). The meaning of deixis is 'pointing to' something. In verbal communication however, deixis in its narrow sense refers to the contextual meaning of pronouns, and in its broad sense, what the speaker means by a particular utterance in a given speech context.


Deixis and Grammar

The basic distinctions for person, spatial, and temporal deixis can be seen in English grammar are presented in direct and indirect speech.

Are you planning to be here this evening? ( DIRECT SPEECH)

I asked her if she was planning to be there that evening. ( INDIRECT SPEECH)


When reporting a previous utterance, the utterance is marked deictically as relative to the original circumstances.

the proximal forms will be shifted to the corresponding distal forms.

The proximal deictic forms of a direct speech give the sense of being in the same context as the utterance.

The distal deictic forms of an indirect speech give the sense of being remote as the original speech event.

The regular difference in English reported discourse marks a distinction between the ‘near speaker’ meaning of direct speech and the ‘away from speaker’ meaning of indirect speech.


Thank You!

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Deixis and Distance