Deictic demonstrative variation in Jordanian Arabic: The role of visual prominence in encoding competing referents

Abstract

This study aims to know the determinants of demonstrative selection in contexts where speakers of Jordanian Arabic (JA) use deictic demonstratives without aid from distinguishing descriptions or gestures to individuate a referent that exists with a similar entity in the same communicative situation. Data collection depended on a prolonged observation of JA use in natural settings. Our findings show that when multiple similar entities are in a status of competing referents in the same context, the speaker's selection of a demonstrative to individuate a specific entity is primarily determined by perceptions of the degree of visual prominence concerning that entity in relation to the similar entity. Visual prominence in our data involved the domains of more/less visibility, foreground/background, front side/back side, vertical/horizontal position, and more/less motion. Within each of these domains, ‘proximals’, were generally associated with the modes of access of high visibility, foreground, vertical position, and more motion; the opposite modes were associated with ‘distals’. As a cognitive consequence of the perceptions concerning the visual prominence of a referent in relation to these modes, entities that were encoded with ‘proximals’ can be considered as having high accessibility while those encoded with ‘distals’ can be considered as having low accessibility.