Deictic Function Research Articles

Typological Reflections on the Rise of Possessive Alienability Splits in Tungusic

Abstract In this brief discussion note I consider rise of (in)alienability splits in Tungusic languages in a typological perspective. I provide typological arguments for the diachronic scenario (originally due to Sunik 1947), in which the interrogative pronoun ƞüi ‘who’ developed nominalizing and deictic function, subsequently giving rise to free possessive construction, on the one hand, and the alienability marker, on the other hand. It is shown that the proposed, typologically informed scenario can successfully account for peculiarities of the inalienable possession and related possessive markers in Tungusic languages, which alternative scenarios are not able to explain.

Intersemiotic interpretation of demonstrative that in modern TV series

The study aims to illustrate that the intersemiotic interpretation of demonstrative that can eliminate the deictic indeterminacy of that in implying the proximity especially when what that identifies is not adequately interpreted in the linguistic expressions. To instantiate this viewpoint, the data are drawn from the modern TV series, annotated by the annotation tool ELAN 6.3, and analyzed by a qualitative method in terms of the complementarity of a visual deictic to demonstrative that, the explicit and implicit demonstrative that, as well as the transformation of that into this. It was found that the visual deictics, such as the arrow, the curve line, the cross, the gaze and other visual images, could eliminate the deictic ambiguity of demonstrative that when that was used to identify an element. The explicit and implicit that sheds light on the deictic divergency of the visual proximity from the linguistic one in multimodal discourse. A visual deictic may force the linguistic deictic that to transform into this by its reappearance. The results do not totally deny the traditional uses of demonstrative that, but expand its deictic function to present the multi-dimensional and dynamic world.

How Do You Say Madrid? Final /d/ Variation and the Indexicality of Madrilenian Localness

Abstract This paper explores the hypothesis that devoicing and deletion of /-d/ can index Madrilenian localness in part because of how these variants are experienced when they happen in the city’s name. Drawing on the notions of enregisterment and metapragmatic stereotypes, this study examines how sociolinguistic variation and linguistic ideology contribute to this indexicality. The data set consists of readings, sociolinguistic interviews, and metalinguistic talk produced by 35 participants from multiple neighborhoods in Madrid. Quantitative analyses examine how /-d/ allophony in the word Madrid patterns with speakers’ characteristics and speech style. A qualitative analysis explores the explicit form-meaning links that emerge in participants’ evaluative comments about various ways of saying Madrid, as well as the underlying ideologies these associations reveal. Results show correlations in usage and recurrent discursive patterns that support the study’s hypothesis. When the word Madrid is used and talked about, the social deixis of /-d/ allophony interacts with the place deictic function of the word to conjure up certain indexicalities that can be exploited to construct locally meaningful personae. By exploring the interaction between phonetic variation and the pragmatic practice of place naming, this study expands our understanding of the development of social meaning, specifically localness.

Not Only Anteriority in the Past: The Functions of the Pluperfect in Spoken Italian

Three distinct anaphoric functions and one deictic function are, with fair confidence, associated with the Italian Pluperfect in the existing literature. In recent studies, it has been hypothesized that the Italian Pluperfect may also have an aoristic use. The present study attempts to assess the semantics of the Italian Pluperfect, by a corpus-based methodology. It will be shown that the data do not support the hypothesis of an aoristic use of the Pluperfect: rather, they suggest the need to extend the analysis of the Pluperfect’s semantics to domains other than tense and aspect. It will be argued that (inter)subjectification may have a key role in describing the layered semantics of the Italian Pluperfect, especially concerning its possible modal-evidential developments.

Местоимение «такое» в разговорной речи: от указательности к неопределенности (на примере конструкции «ну такое»)

The purpose of the research is to describe the semantics and grammatical functions of the neuter singular pronoun «такое» in colloquial speech. Scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that the traditionally studied pronoun belongs to the category of demonstrative pronouns that primarily perform a deictic function, however, the analysis of real language contexts shows that there are grounds for expanding the semantics and functions of this language unit. The paper analyses modern approaches to the morphological description of the linguistic unit «такое», describes the possible meanings and functions of the pronoun in synchrony, considers the relationship between the neuter singular form of the pronoun «такой» and the category of impersonality. As a result of the research, it has been determined that the pronoun «такой» in the neuter singular form in colloquial speech (usage) can express the meaning of indefiniteness and perform an evaluative function. In addition, possible reasons for the emergence of this meaning in the specified word form, such as intra-linguistic enantiosemy and the asymmetric dualism of the linguistic sign underlying it, have been identified and the further linguistic fate of the studied language unit has been described.

A contrastive analysis of articles in English and demonstratives in isiZulu

An analysis of the use of demonstratives in isiZulu (izabizwana zokukhomba) has shown that they go beyond the known deictic functions of demonstratives as used in other languages like English. In isiZulu, demonstratives tend to also denote specificity, a function normally performed by the definite article in English. This article, therefore, compares the functions of articles in English to those of demonstratives in isiZulu, with the aim to demonstrate the similarities in terms of use between the two languages. This added function of demonstratives, it is argued, may account for some of the errors in English second language learners’ use of articles, as evidenced by data from written exercises of learners whose first language is isiZulu. The findings suggest that second language learners of English tend to confuse articles because of the differences between the two languages, especially during their (learners’) interlanguage stage.Contribution: The article highlights a significant difference in the use of demonstratives between English and isiZulu due to the added function of specificity in isiZulu demonstrative (isabizwana sokukhomba) which is performed by the definite article in English. It also demonstrates how, without an article system, isiZulu can convey meaning like any language with an article system.

Features of Deictic Processing Adverbs Now, Then, Here, There

This article examines the main mechanism of development of the deictic features of English adverbs now, then, here, there, their purposeful research, and also reveals and diversifies the diversity of their development points on the basis of specific linguistic material. The study of the deictic properties of the adverbs Now, then, here, there in English is of deep interest. In a discursive situation, the deictic essence of the adverbs now, then, here, there is revealed first of all. Before exploring the deictic functions of these adverbs, the views of various linguists on the deixis category and deictic expressions are noteworthy.

Exploring the natural language-IRAP as a potential measure of adolescents’ perspective-taking

Researchers have used the implicit relational assessment procedure (IRAP) to explore adults' deictic relational responding, with recent evidence suggesting natural language IRAPs (NL-IRAPs) capture some perspective-taking. The present study sought to extend literature on perspective-taking NL-IRAPs by presenting NL-IRAPs to a sample of adolescents (n = 110) aged 14–17 years (M = 15.64, SD = 0.52). All participants completed a Self-Focused NL-IRAP and were randomly assigned to complete either a Specified Other-Focused NL-IRAP or Unspecified Other-Focused NL-IRAP. No statistically significant differences were observed in IRAP performance when responding from one's own perspective versus a specified other's perspective. A statistically significant interaction effect was observed between perspective (self-other) and trial type when an unspecified other was used. No statistically significant relationships were observed between self-reported perspective-taking tendencies and IRAP performance. Findings are discussed with reference to (i) the importance of tailoring stimuli to the individual and (ii) the challenge of maintaining deictic functions of self-other while evoking perspective-taking, not ‘sense-making’.

The study of gesture in cognitive linguistics: How it could inform and inspire other research in cognitive science.

Cognitive linguists are increasingly extending their paradigm to include the study of gestures. The bottom-up, usage-based approach in cognitive linguistics has advanced the methods for identifying gesture functions, starting from a detailed analysis of gesture forms. Theoretical notions from cognitive linguistics also help explain the means by which the forms of gestures can be interpreted as meaningful functions. Principles of conceptual metonymy explain how gestures indicate referents through the partial representation of their features that are relevant in the context of use. Conceptual metaphor theory sheds light on how abstract notions can be represented in gesture via comparison with physical source domains. Furthermore, every gestural representation inherently requires the gesturing speaker to employ a specific viewpoint for their depiction-something which is normally not expressed verbally. These aspects of gesture provide insights into processes of thinking for speaking that can be exploited in various fields of cognitive science research. Referential gestures also normally combine pragmatic and interactive functions (showing stance-taking, for example) with representational or deictic functions. The multiple functions of gesture combined with those of speech raise questions for further research about how viewing-listeners interpret and combine information from the multiple semiotic systems employed by gesturing-speakers. Finally, gesture use has been shown to correlate not only with lexical concepts but also in some ways with grammatical constructions. This gives rise to fundamental questions about what constitutes the grammar of a language. Gesture analysis thus raises issues for consideration in any research in cognitive science that concerns spoken language. This article is categorized under: Linguistics > Cognitive Linguistics > Linguistic Theory Psychology > Language.

Role of laughter in establishing solidarity and status

Drawing on a range of American, Australian, British and Scandinavian research into laughter, the current paper will use the form of pragmatic analysis typically found in qualitative research and apply it to data produced by the quantitative methodology common in the author’s own discipline of psychology. Laughter will be examined as an indexical that serves both a discourse deictic function, designating the utterance in which it occurs as non-serious, and a social deictic function, marking the laughing person’s preference for social proximity with fellow interlocutors. The paper will then analyse examples and data pertaining to three types of laughter bout derived from taking laughter as an indexical. First, solitary listener laughter will be argued to signify a deferential acknowledgement of continued solidarity with the speaker. Second, solitary speaker laughter will be suggested to mark a simple preference for solidarity. Third, joint laughter will be accepted as a signifier of actual solidarity that may also be used to mark status depending on which party typically initiates the joint laughter. Joint laughter thus acts in a manner closely analogous to the exchange of another set of indexicals, the T and V versions of second person pronouns in European languages. Finally, the paper will conclude by examining the problematic case of laughing at another interlocutor, before briefly considering the implications of this pragmatic perspective for traditional accounts of laughter as well as for future research.

Pronouns, metonymy, and identity

Abstract Although formal linguists have focused on the deictic and (co)referential functions of pronouns, social categorization and identity are deeply involved in pronominal usage. I argue here that even the understanding of pronoun reference requires us to go beyond extensional (co)-reference. The extensive literature on linguistic categorization has focused on nouns more than on verbs, as has work on metonymy – but not on pronouns. Here I present two case studies, one of third-person pronouns and one of first-plural pronouns. In one I argue that cognitive science findings on categorization make it impossible for a masculine noun/pronoun usage to be truly “generic” in gender reference. The other examines the ways in which identity and group structure shape the possibilities for plural pronoun reference, in particular with respect to first-person plural (we) uses. To understand the principles of reference for these pronouns, we need to apply theoretical frameworks developed for lexical meaning: frames, category structure, prototypes, categorial metonymy and frame metonymy.

The functioning of the pronoun ть (тоть) in Russian business writing of the XIV-XV centuries.

The article examines the functions performed by the demonstrative pronoun ть (тоть) in business texts of the XIV-XV centuries, written on the territory of the Moscow Principality, Novgorod and Pskov lands. Examples of usages were analyzed and combined on the basis of what function demonstrative pronouns have in each case (anaphoric, articular, determinative function (word-substitute subordinate clause), cataphoric). In the case of an anaphora, an analysis of the antecedent was performed — an expression naming the object, person or situation to which the pronoun refers. Particular attention is paid to the syntactic role of pronouns — substantives, attributives and substantive attributives — and how it affects their use. As a result of the study, three main functions that the pronoun in question performs were identified: anaphoric, articular and determinative function. The specifics of how the syntactic role of pronouns affects its use in an anaphoric function have been clarified: for example, substantives usually refer to objects and situations, but are practically not used to refer to people. Substantive attributes, on the contrary, most often serve to refer to the previously mentioned people and in just one case refer to objects. The first reliable examples of pronouns in the articular function, in our opinion, can be attributed to the XV century. Part of the article is devoted to what features pronouns have in the articular function and how it can be distinguished from anaphora. In the entire corpus of texts considered, only three examples of the cataphoric function of the pronoun were found, and the pronoun тоть in the deictic function was not recorded at all.

Re/construing Our World: An Ecolinguistic Perspective on Tagalog Nominal Group Resources

This paper focuses on Tagalog nominal groups and the way they are used in a children's picture book narrative. Its purpose is two-fold. On the one hand it presents an analysis of Tagalog nominal group structures, proposing Function Marking, Focus, Specifier, Numerative, Epithet, Deictic, Thing and Qualifier functions. On the other hand it is concerned with the way Tagalog nominal groups are used to construe an environmentalist perspective that could be used to inform critical pedagogic practices in Philippines’ primary schools. Models of teacher/student interaction addressing this challenge are provided and adapted for bilingual/multilingual classrooms – drawing on the evolving teaching/learning cycles of the so-called ‘Sydney School’ of educational linguistics (its development as Reading to Learn pedagogy and curriculum in particular). 1 1 The authors are indebted to David Rose for his advice on our modelling of ecolinguistically oriented multilingual literacy pedagogy.

Stylistics of proper names of the “onomastic periphery” of the Ukrainian postmodern text (based on the novel “Defilade in Moscow” by V. Kozhelyanko)

The purpose of the research is to examine the stylistics of proper names of the “onomastic periphery” in the Ukrainian postmodern text. Research methods - induction, deduction, descriptive, contextual-interpretive and component analysis. Scientific novelty. In modern linguistics, the potentialities of the names of proper prose texts of famous Ukrainian writers have not yet been sufficiently studied. Therefore, in our opinion, the study of proper names in literary texts requires special attention, and a thorough analysis of literary and artistic anthroponyms, toponyms and other classes of onyms used in the works of modern Ukrainian writers opens up opportunities for further generalizations in the field of relevant linguistic stylistic problems. The onym space of an artistic text is an integral structure that performs certain artistic tasks depending on the ideological, thematic and genre direction of the literary work. Proper names reflect the individual authorial style of writing, as well as individual artistic and linguistic picture of the world in general, implement the author's concept of worldview, contribute to the construction of artistic image. Conclusions. The onymic space of the novel by V. Kozhelyanko is attested not only by anthroponymy and toponymy, but also by the proprial units of the onymic periphery. The onimic periphery of the postmodern text is widely represented not only quantitatively, but also qualitatively, is an organic element of the text of the novel, performing, in addition to the immanent nominative, characteristic, deictic functions, it becomes an element of the writer's language game, ideally "fitting" with irony, parody, allusions into aesthetics works.

Nominal determination in Moroccan Arabic

Abstract Many studies on Moroccan Arabic presuppose the existence of a determination system organized along the lines of definiteness and indefiniteness. Hence, they postulate a ‘definite article’ with the form /l-/ and an ‘indefinite article’ as its counterpart in the form /waħd.l-/. This study shows that the so-called ‘definite article’ /l-/ is actually a general referential marker that mainly marks a noun as [−predicative]. The marker /l-/ and its augmented forms are specific and allow different readings ranging from anaphoric definiteness to specific indefiniteness. The marker /waħd.l-/ is less an ‘indefinite article’ but marks ‘mirativity’, i.e. pragmatic salience. Thus it often has a cataphoric function. Demonstratives are used in deictic function but also to evoke an already existing knowledge in the hearer. The system is extended by the referential marker /ʃi-/ restricted to mark non-specific items. The complexity of nominal determination is partly the result of the juxtaposition of typically Moroccan linguistic innovations and retentions of “common Arabic” structures.

About the Word-Order in Old Russian Noun Phrases with Pronominal Adjectives (on the Material of Direct Speech in “The Tale of Bygone Yearsˮ)

The article is devoted to the study of the word-order in simple noun phrases, which include pronominal adjectives as definitions, in statements of the characters of “The Tale of Bygone Years&8j1; (non-translated dialogic fragments are analyzed). A regularity is established: pronouns in anaphoric and deictic functions are characterized by their common use in postposition relative to the main component, and pronouns in cataphoric and quantifier functions are prepositive usually. It is also established that the main reason for a variation of the usual word-order is the need for communicative highlighting of the component of the phrase moved to the preposition. At the same time, the usual use of quantifiers in preposition is not associated with their communicative selection, but with the fact that, being indicators of referential status, in combination with the components being determined, they form a kind of “complex words&8j1;, the “decoding&8j1; of the meanings of which in a linear flow of speech implies the first stage of this "decoding" is the establishment of a referential status. The described patterns of the word-order are associated, in our opinion, with the fact that direct speech depicts oral speech, reflecting its linearity: the first in the focus of the listener's attention is the prepositive component, which determines its emphasis – semantic and / or communicative.

ВАРИАТИВНОСТЬ В УПОТРЕБЛЕНИИ УКАЗАТЕЛЬНЫХ МЕСТОИМЕНИЙ В ШУГНАНСКОМ ЯЗЫКЕ

This article provides an overview of the main features of the Shughni system of demonstratives and their deictic functions. The study is based on the fieldwork data, namely an experiment during which the informants responded with Shughni demonstratives. The data obtained are presented in the form of tables with subsequent discussion. The study uses diverse theoretic approaches: on the one hand, a bicentric approach to deixis, examining it through the relations of the participants in a speech act, on the other hand, the idea of the opposition between person- and distance-oriented systems following the mainstream thinking about deixis as remoteness from deictic center, that is, the speaker. In this vein, this article seeks to combine the achievements of both. As a result, an updated understanding of the variability of Shughni demonstratives is provided.

The development of the encoding of deictic motion in the Bantu language Rangi: grammaticalisation and change

AbstractThe close cross-linguistic relation between the domains of space and time has been well described. The frequent emergence of Tense-Aspect-Mood (TAM) markers from deictic motion verbs in particular, has also been extensively detailed in the literature. This paper focusses on the less well-known link between associated motion, a category of functional morphemes expressing (deictic) motion events, and TAM, in a language contact situation. Specifically, it provides a synchronic and diachronic description of three associated motion prefixes,joo-,tóó-andkoo-, found in the Tanzanian Bantu language Rangi, spoken in an area of high linguistic diversity. It proposes that the prefixjoo-encodes movement towards a deictic centre,tóó-encodes movement towards a goal which is not the deictic centre, andkoo-encodes movement away from a deictic centre. It further contends that whiletóó-andkoo-have maintained a purely deictic function,joo-has grammaticalised to assume an additional function whereby it encodes future tense, possibly aided by the absence of a dedicated future tense marker in the language. This three-way morphological encoding of spatial relations on the verb form is not a common characteristic of East African Bantu languages. However, this paper proposes that the system in Rangi can be accounted for on the basis of cross-linguistically widely attested pathways of grammatical change.

Remapping variable subject position in Spanish intransitives

Abstract In Spanish, a SVO language with variable word order, post-verbal subjects have been proposed to be favored for particular verb categories. For instance, based on agentivity, unaccusatives are proposed to favor VS as a whole. Motion verbs are regarded as unaccusatives generally favoring VS order. An alternative analysis is presented here, using data from two conversational corpora. Motion verbs are recategorized based on their predicted tendency to include adverbials in the sentence and compared with other unaccusatives. Motion verbs are divided according to their Deictic Function (Talmy 2000) into “come” verbs (i.e., “motion-toward-the-center,” that is, the speaker), and “go” verbs. “Come” verbs do not often require target specification through an adverbial, whereas “go” verbs do. Adverbials were found to appear as post-verbal path specification in “go” verbs; due to weight factors, such specifiers favor pre-verbal subjects. Importantly, even when no modifier is present, trends persist, suggesting entrenchment of usage patterns.

Deixis in the Dagaare Nominal Group: Syntagmatic and Paradigmatic Perspectives

Although the use of multiple deictic items such as definite articles, possessives and demonstratives in the nominal group of many languages has been noted in the literature, the motivation for this phenomenon is often unexplained. The present study examines this phenomenon in the Lobr dialect of Dagaare (Niger-Congo: Mabia/Gur) from both syntagmatic and paradigmatic perspectives. It first identifies three deictic functions in the structure of the Dagaare nominal group: Deictic1 ^ Deictic2 ^ Classifier ^ Thing ^ Epithet ^ Numerative ^ Deictic3 ^ Qualifier. Second, the study shows that the system of deixis in the Dagaare nominal group involves a division of semiotic labor among deictic elements in the realization of (participant) identification, person systems and specificity. Specifically, the definite article is used as a participant tracking device, including the reactivation of participants with unique reference from the common memory of the speaker and addressee. Demonstratives are specificity marking devices and thus encode discrete semantic information of referents, while indefinite determiners are non-specificity markers. The study combines issues that have been pursued as separate topics in the literature to shed insights on deixis in the nominal group as well as related concepts such as definiteness and specificity.