Pragmatics- Deixis and Distance by Dr.shadia.pptx

PRAGMATICS

http://www.kau.edu.sa/SBANJER

http://wwwdrshadiabanjar.blogspot.com

DR. Shadia Y. Banjar 1

By:

Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar

The word ‘deixis’ is a technical

term (from Greek) for one of

Deixis

Definition Definition


term (from Greek) for one of

the most basic things we do

with utterances, which means

‘pointing’ via language.'

1: any linguistic form used to

accomplish ‘pointing’ is called a


accomplish ‘pointing’ is called a

deictic expression.

2: deictic expressions are also

known as indexicals.

Deictic expressions are meaningful in a given context.

They are among the first words acquired by children.

Deictic expressions


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.

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)


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


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

Person DeixisPerson 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).


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:

Person Deixis


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.

Place Deixis

concerns 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.


– 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/distaldimension.

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

Place Deixis


( 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

motion verbs = signs of place deixis

– come vs. go makes distinction between the direction of motion

He'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

Place Deixis


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.

Time DeixisTime 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

Time Deixis


– 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 present

Relative tenses refer to other tenses:

– past perfect: event refers to another event, that happens afterwards

tenseless eternal sentences:

– Two and two is four.

languages without true tenses:

– Chinese

time deixis is relevant to various other deictic elements in language:

Time Deixis


in language:

– ex.: greetings

=> Good morning.

can only be used in the morning

– expressions:

=> the former president, my ex-husband

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


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,discoursedeixis: 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:

Discourse Deixis


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

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

Social Deixis


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.

• 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

Using Deixis


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.

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


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,


•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.

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


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.


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Pragmatics- Deixis and Distance by Dr.shadia.pptx