Can the deictic centre be shifted?

Abstract

Some prominent linguists on tense accept that a distinction has to be drawn between two tense forms, namely absolute and relative tense. Relative tense is then regarded as that tense form where the deictic centre (which serves as the origo for the semantic interpretation) is shifted to a position which is ‘not now’. This hypothesis is questioned in this article. In the discussion it is argued that the deictic centre cannot be shifted, neither can there be more than one deictic centre. Rather, what happens is that the speaker selects a reference point (which may be any point on the time axis except the ‘now’). The semantic interpretation is then undertaken from this selected reference point. The interlocuters cannot ever lose track of the deictic centre and therefore this reference point is established in relation to the deictic centre.