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person deixis, place deixis and time deixis In linguistics, deixis (/dakss/)[1] refers to ords and phrases that cannot !e fully understood ithout additional contextual information" Words are deictic if their semantic meaning is fixed !ut their denotational meaning #aries depending on time and/or place" Words or phrases that re$uire contextual information to con#ey any meaning % for example, &nglish pronouns % are deictic" 'eixis is closely related to anaphora, as ill !e further explained !elo " (lthough this article deals primarily ith deixis in spoken language, the concept can apply to ritten language, gestures, and communication media as ell" While this article dra s examples primarily from &nglish, deixis is !elie#ed to !e a feature (to some degree) of all natural languages"[)] *he term+s origin is (ncient ,reek./012 deixis 3display, demonstration, or reference4, the meaning point of reference in contemporary linguistics ha#ing !een taken o#er from 5hrysippus"[6]

Contents

1 *ypes of deixis o 1"1 *raditional categories 1"1"1 7erson 1"1") 7lace 1"1"6 *ime o 1") 8ther categories 1")"1 'iscourse 1")") 9ocial 1")")"1 *:; distinction 1")")") <onorifics

1"6 (naphoric reference ) 'eictic center 6 =sages of deixis > 'eixis and indexicality ? 9ee also @ Aotes B Ceferences D Further reading E &xternal links
o

Types of deixis
Traditional categories
7ossi!ly the most common categories of contextual information referred to !y deixis are those of person, place, and time : hat Fillmore calls the 3maFor grammaticaliGed types4 of deixis"[>] Person 7erson deixis concerns itself ith the grammatical persons in#ol#ed in an utterance, (1) those directly in#ol#ed (e"g" the speaker, the addressee), ()) those not directly in#ol#ed (e"g" o#erhearersHthose ho hear the utterance !ut ho are not !eing directly addressed), and (6) those mentioned in the utterance"[?] In &nglish, the distinctions are generally indicated !y pronouns" *he follo ing examples sho ho " (*he person deictic terms are in italics, a signaling notation that ill continue through this article") I am going to the mo#ies" Would you like to ha#e dinnerI They tried to hurt me, !ut he came to the rescue" In many languages, the third:person masculine pronoun is often used as a default hen using JitJ is inappropriate, !ut the gender of its antecedent is unkno n or inapplica!le" For example*o each his o n"

(lso common is the use of the third:person plural, e#en hen a singular pronoun is called for*o each their o n" In some languages hich distinguish !et een masculine and feminine plural pronouns, such as French or 9er!o:5roatian,[@] the masculine is again used as default" JIls vont la bibliothqueJ, JOni idut v bibliotekuJ (They go to the library) may refer either to a group of males or a group hich comprises !oth genders" JElles vont...J, JOni idut...J ould only !e used for a group of females" Place 7lace deixis, also kno n as space deixis, concerns itself ith the spatial locations rele#ant to an utterance" 9imilarly to person deixis, the locations may !e either those of the speaker and addressee or those of persons or o!Fects !eing referred to" *he most salient &nglish examples are the ad#er!s here and there and the demonstrati#es this and that : although those are far from !eing the only deictic ords"[>] 9ome examplesI enFoy li#ing in this city" Here is here e ill place the statue" 9he as sitting o#er there" =nless other ise specified, place deictic terms are generally understood to !e relati#e to the location of the speaker, as in *he shop is across the street" here 3across the street4 is understood to mean 3across the street from here I am right no "4[>] It is interesting to note that hile 3here4 and 3there4 are often used to refer to locations near to and far from the speaker, respecti#ely, 3there4 can also refer to the location of the addressee, if they are not in the same location as the speaker" 9o, hile Here is a good spotK it is too sunny o#er there" exemplifies the former usage, <o is the eather thereI is an example of the latter"[?] Languages usually sho at least a t o: ay referential distinction in their deictic systemproximal, i"e" near or closer to the speakerK and distal, i"e" far from the speaker and/or

closer to the addressee" &nglish exemplifies this ith such pairs as this and that, here and there, etc" In other languages, the distinction is three: ay- proximal, i"e" near the speakerK medial, i"e" near the addresseeK and distal, i"e" far from !oth" *his is the case in a fe Comance languages[note 1] and in 9er!o:5roatian,[B] Morean, Napanese, *hai, Filipino and *urkish" *he archaic &nglish forms yon and yonder (still preser#ed in some regional dialects) once represented a distal category hich has no !een su!sumed !y the formerly medial JthereJ"[D] Time *ime, or temporal, deixis concerns itself ith the #arious times in#ol#ed in and referred to in an utterance" *his includes time ad#er!s like Jno J, JthenJ, JsoonJ, and so forth, and also different tenses" ( good example is the ord tomorrow, hich denotes the consecuti#e next day after e#ery day" *he Jtomorro J of a day last year as a different day from the Jtomorro J of a day next eek" *ime ad#er!s can !e relati#e to the time hen an utterance is made ( hat Fillmore calls the Jencoding timeJ, or &*) or hen the utterance is heard (Fillmore+s Jdecoding timeJ, or '*)"[>] While these are fre$uently the same time, they can differ, as in the case of prerecorded !roadcasts or correspondence" For example, if one ere to rite It is raining now, !ut I hope when you read this it ill !e sunny" the &* and '* ould !e different, ith the former deictic term concerning &* and the latter the '*" *enses are generally separated into a!solute (deictic) and relati#e tenses" 9o, for example, simple &nglish past tense is a!solute, such as in <e went" hile the pluperfect is relati#e to some other deictically specified time, as in <e had gone"

Other categories
*hough the traditional categories of deixis are perhaps the most o!#ious, there are other types of deixis that are similarly per#asi#e in language use" *hese categories of deixis ere first discussed !y Fillmore and Lyons"[?] Discourse

'iscourse deixis, also referred to as text deixis, refers to the use of expressions ithin an utterance to refer to parts of the discourse that contains the utterance H including the utterance itself" For example, in This is a great story" 3this4 refers to an upcoming portion of the discourse, and in That as an amaGing day" 3that4 refers to a prior portion of the discourse" 'istinction must !e made !et een discourse deixis and anaphora, hich is hen an expression makes reference to the same referent as a prior term, as in Oatthe is an incredi!le athleteK he came in first in the race" Lyons points out that it is possi!le for an expression to !e !oth deictic and anaphoric at the same time" In his example I as !orn in London and I ha#e li#ed here there all my life" 3here4 or 3there4 function anaphorically in their reference to London, and deictically in that the choice !et een 3here4 or 3there4 indicates hether the speaker is or is not currently in London"[)] *he rule of thum! to distinguish the t o phenomena is as follo s- hen an expression refers to another linguistic expression or a piece of discourse, it is discourse deictic" When that expression refers to the same item as a prior linguistic expression, it is anaphoric"[?] 9 itch reference is a type of discourse deixis, and a grammatical feature found in some languages, hich indicates hether the argument of one clause is the same as the argument of the pre#ious clause" In some languages, this is done through same su!Fect markers and different su!Fect markers" In the translated example JNohn punched *om, and left:[same su!Fect marker],J it is Nohn ho left, and in JNohn punched *om, and left: [different su!Fect marker],J it is *om ho left"[citation needed] Social 9ocial deixis concerns the social information that is encoded ithin #arious expressions, such as relati#e social status and familiarity" * o maFor forms of it are the so:called *:; distinctions and honorifics"
T-V distinction

Oain article- *:; distinction *:; distinctions, named for the Latin 3tu4 and 3#os4 (singular and plural #ersions of 3you4) are the name gi#en to the phenomenon hen a language has t o different second: person pronouns" *he #arying usage of these pronouns indicates something a!out formality, familiarity, and/or solidarity !et een the interactants" 9o, for example, the * form might !e used hen speaking to a friend or social e$ual, hereas the ; form ould !e used speaking to a stranger or social superior" *his phenomenon is common in &uropean languages"[E]
Honorifics

Oain article- <onorifics (linguistics) <onorifics are a much more complex form of social deixis than *:; distinctions, though they encode similar types of social information" *hey can in#ol#e ords !eing marked ith #arious morphemes as ell as nearly entirely different lexicons !eing used !ased on the social status of the interactants" *his type of social deixis is found in a #ariety of languages, !ut is especially common in 9outh and &ast (sia"[E]

naphoric reference
Oain article- (naphora (linguistics) ,enerally speaking, anaphora refers to the ay in hich a ord or phrase relates to other text

(n exophoric reference refers to language outside of the text in hich the reference is found" o ( homophoric reference is a generic phrase that o!tains a specific meaning through kno ledge of its context" For example, the meaning of the phrase !the "ueen! may !e determined !y the country in hich it is spoken" Pecause there are many Queens throughout the orld, the location of the speaker[note )] pro#ides the extra information that allo s an indi#idual Queen to !e identified" (n endophoric reference refers to something inside of the text in hich the reference is found" o (n anaphoric reference, hen opposed to cataphora, refers to something ithin a text that has !een pre#iously identified" For example, in !#usan dropped the plate. It shattered loudly! the ord !it! refers to the phrase !the plate!" o ( cataphoric reference refers to something ithin a text that has not yet !een identified" For example, in !He was very cold. $avid promptly put on his coat! the identity of the !he! is unkno n until the indi#idual is also referred to as !$avid!"

Deictic center
( deictic center, sometimes referred to as an origo, is a set of theoretical points that a deictic expression is Ranchored+ to, such that the e#aluation of the meaning of the expression leads one to the rele#ant point" (s deictic expressions are fre$uently egocentric, the center often consists of the speaker at the time and place of the utterance, and additionally, the place in the discourse and rele#ant social factors" <o e#er, deictic expressions can also !e used in such a ay that the deictic center is transferred to other participants in the exchange, or to persons / places / etc" !eing descri!ed in a narrati#e"[?] 9o, for example, in the sentence I am standing here no " the deictic center is simply the person at the time and place of speaking" Put say t o people are talking on the phone long:distance, from London to Ae Sork" *he Londoner can say We are going to Ae Sork next eek" in hich case the deictic center is in London, or they can e$ually #alidly say We are coming to Ae Sork next eek" in hich case the deictic center is in Ae Sork"[)] 9imilarly, hen telling a story a!out someone, the deictic center is likely to s itch to them" 9o then in the sentence <e then ran t enty feet to the left" it is understood that the center is ith the person !eing spoken of, and thus, Jto the leftJ refers not to the speaker+s left, !ut to the o!Fect of the story+s left, that is, the person referred to as TheT at the time immediately !efore he ran t enty feet"

!sages of deixis
It is helpful to distinguish !et een t o usages of deixis, gestural and sym!olic, as ell as non:deictic usages of fre$uently deictic ords" ,estural deixis refers, !roadly, to deictic expressions hose understanding re$uires some sort of audio:#isual information" ( simple example is hen an o!Fect is pointed at and referred to as 3this4 or 3that4" <o e#er, the category can include other types of information than pointing, such as direction of gaGe, tone of #oice, and so on" 9ym!olic usage, !y contrast, re$uires generally only !asic spatio:temporal kno ledge of the utterance"[?] 9o, for example I !roke this finger" re$uires !eing a!le to see hich finger is !eing held up, hereas

I lo#e this city" re$uires only kno ledge of the current location" In a similar #ein, I ent to this city one time U is a non:deictic usage of JthisJ, hich does not reference anything specific" Cather, it is used as an indefinite article, much the ay JaJ could !e used in its place"

Deixis and indexicality

*he terms deixis and indexicality are fre$uently used almost interchangea!ly, and !oth deal ith essentially the same idea- contextually dependent references" <o e#er, the t o terms ha#e different histories and traditions" In the past, deixis as associated specifically ith spatiotemporal reference hereas indexicality as used more !roadly"[1V] Oore importantly, each is associated ith a different field of studyK deixis is associated ith linguistics, hile indexicality is associated ith philosophy"[11]

See also

Indexicality (naphora 'emonstrati#e ,eneric antecedents 7ro:form

"otes
1" In 5lassical Latin, the medial and distal forms are usually used as peForati#e and laudati#e respecti#ely" )" 8r his nationality, or the language or country heTs talking a!out, etc"- e"g" in the set phrase the "ueen%s &nglish W JstandardJ Pritish &nglish, Jthe language #ariety the Queen of &ngland speaksJ, or at least is supposed to speak, regardless of here the speaker is located" 9imilarly, in the mouth of a Prit, or in a text a!out the =M, the "ueen ould !y default !e assumed to mean the Queen of the =nited Mingdom"

#eferences
1" )" 'xford &nglish $ictionary 6rd &d" ()VV6) Lyons, Nohn (1EBB) J'eixis, space and timeJ in #emantics, ;ol" ), pp" @6@%B)>" 5am!ridge =ni#ersity 7ress" 6" 9toica ),@?"

>"

Fillmore, 5harles N (1EB1) (ectures on $eixis" 59LI 7u!lications (reprinted 1EEB)" ?" Le#inson, 9tephen 5" J'eixisJ in 7ragmatics" pp" ?>%E@" @" MordiX, 9nFeYana ()VV@) [1st pu!" 1EEB]" #erbo)*roatian" Languages of the World/Oaterials K 1>D" Ounich Z Ae castle- Lincom &uropa" p" ))" I9PA 6: DE?D@:1@1:D" 85L5 6BE?ED@V" 8L )D@6?6DW" [,rammar !ook]" 5ontents" 9ummary" B" MordiX, 9nFeYana ()VV6)" J[ndert sich das ser!okroatische 9ystem der Lokalad#er!ienIJ [(re there changes in the 9er!o:5roatian system of local ad#er!sI]" In Perger, *ilmanK ,utschmidt, Marl" +unktionale ,eschreibung slavischer #prachen- ,eitr.ge /um 0III. Internationalen #lavistenkongress in (1ubl1ana" 9la#olinguistica K #ol" > (in ,erman)" Ounich- 8tto 9agner" p" 11?" I9PA 6:DB@EV:D>>:)" 85L5 ?66B@@D6" (rchi#ed from the original on )> (ugust )V1)" Cetrie#ed 6V (ugust )V1)" D" Lyons, 5hristopher" $efiniteness" 5am!ridge =ni#ersity 7ress, 1EEE" p" 111" E" Foley, William" 1EEB" 2nthropological linguistics- 2n introduction" Plack ell 7u!lishing" 1V" 9il#erstein, Oichael" (1EB@) J9hifters, linguistic categories, and cultural descriptionJ" In M" Passo and <" 9el!y (eds"), 3eaning in 2nthropology" 9(C pp" )?" 11" Le#inson, 9tephen 5" ()VV@) J'eixisJ" In Laurence C" <orn, ,regory L" Ward (eds") The Handbook of 4ragmatics, pp" EBD%1)V" Plack ell 7u!lishing"

$urther reading

(nderson, 9tephen C"K Z Meenan, &d ard L" (1ED?)" 'eixis" In *" 9hopen (&d"), (anguage typology and syntactic description- 5rammatical categories and the lexicon (;ol" 6, pp" )?E%6VD)" 5am!ridge- 5am!ridge =ni#ersity 7ress" Fillmore, 5harles N" (1E@@)" 'eictic categories in the semantics of Rcome+" +oundations of (anguage, 6, )1E%))B" Fillmore, 5harles N" (1ED))" *o ards a descripti#e frame ork for spatial deixis" In C" N" Nar#ell Z W" Mlein (&ds"), #peech7 place and action- #tudies in deixis and related topics (pp" 61%?E)" London- Wiley" ,aynesford, O" de I- The 3eaning of the +irst 4erson Term, 8xford, 8xford =ni#ersity 7ress, )VV@" ,eorge ,rigore, La deixis spatial dans l+ara!e parl\ ] Pagdad, &studios de dialectologia ara!e n"B, ^aragoGa, pp BB:EV [1] MordiX, 9nFeYana ()VV1)" 89rter im 5ren/bereich von (exikon und 5rammatik im #erbokroatischen [#erbo)*roatian 8ords on the ,order ,etween (exicon and 5rammar]" 9tudies in 9la#ic Linguistics K 1D (in ,erman)" Ounich- Lincom &uropa" p" )DV" I9PA 6:DE?D@:E?>:@" L55A )VV??6V616" 85L5 >BEV?VEB" 8L )D@6?6EW" 9ummary" *raut, ,regory 7" and MaGGaGi, Merstin" 1EE@" $ictionary of (anguage and (inguistics" Coutledge" London and Ae Sork"

What is deixis?
Definition 'eixis is reference !y means of an expression hose interpretation is relati#e to the (usually) extralinguistic context of the utterance, such as

ho is speaking the time or place of speaking the gestures of the speaker, or the current location in the discourse"

%xamples &%nglish' <ere are examples of deictic expressions

I :ou ;ow There That The following *enses

(inds <ere are some kinds of deixis

What is discourse deixisI What is empathetic deixisI What is person deixisI What is place deixisI What is social deixisI What is time deixisI

What is discourse deixis?

Definition 'iscourse deixis is deictic reference to a portion of a discourse relati#e to the

speakerTs current 3location4 in the discourse" %xamples &%nglish'

=se of this to refer to a story one is a!out to tell in I !et you ha#en+t heard this story" Ceference to 5hapter B of a !ook !y means of in the next chapter or in the previous chapter7 depending on hether the reference is made from 5hapter @ or D"

=se of this in a creaky:#oiced utterance of

This is hat phoneticians call a creaky #oice" Le#inson 1ED6 @6, D?

Source)

What is switch reference?

Definition 9 itch reference is a grammatical category ith the follo ing features

It signals the identity or nonidentity of the referent of an argument of one clause, usually its su!Fect, ith an argument of another clause, hich is like ise usually the su!Fect" 9 itch reference functions to a#oid am!iguity of referenceK for example, it may distinguish !et een t o referents that are third person and that, thus, may not !e other ise distinguished on the #er!"

It relates clauses, usually adFacent, that may !e su!ordinate or coordinate to one another" It is expressed
o o

usually !y inflectional affixes on the #er! sometimes !y the same affixes that express su!Fect:#er! agreement ithin the clause, and rarely !y a morpheme independent of the #er!"

What is token-reflexive deixis?

Definition *oken:reflexi#e deixis is discourse deixis in hich the deictic expression refers to the expression or speech act in hich it occurs" %xamples &%nglish'

This is hat phoneticians call Jcreaky #oice"J [the utterance itself is spoken ith creaky #oice]

I hereby apologiGe" Le#inson 1ED6 ?B, @6

Source)

What is empathetic deixis?

Definition &mpathetic deixis is the metaphorical use of deictic forms to indicate emotional or other psychological 3distance4 or 3proximity4 !et een a speaker and a referent" %xamples &%nglish'

*he use of this to indicate the speaker+s empathy *he use of that to indicate the speaker+s emotional distance Le#inson 1ED6 D1

Source)

What is person deixis?

Definition 7erson deixis is deictic reference to the participant role of a referent, such as

the speaker

the addressee, and referents hich are neither speaker nor addressee"

Discussion 7erson deixis is commonly expressed !y the follo ing kinds of constituents

7ronouns 7ossessi#e affixes of nouns (greement affixes of #er!s

(inds <ere are some kinds of person deixis

What is first person deixisI What is second person deixisI What is third person deixisI

*eneric 7erson deixis is a kind of

What is deixisI

Sources Le#inson 1ED6 @) 5rystal 1EDV )@6 <artmann and 9tork 1EB) 1@D Oish 1EE1 DBB

What is first person deixis?

Definition First person deixis is deictic reference that refers to

the speaker, or !oth the speaker and referents grouped ith the speaker"

%xamples &%nglish'

*he follo ing singular pronounsI me myself my mine *he follo ing plural pronounso o o o o o o o o o

we us ourselves our ours

2m7 the first person form of the #er! be

(inds <ere are some kinds of first person deixis

What is exclusi#e first person deixisI What is inclusi#e first person deixisI

*eneric First person deixis is a kind of

What is person deixisI

Sources 5rystal 1EDV )@6 <artmann and 9tork 1EB) 1@D Oish 1EE1 >@@ Le#inson 1ED6 @) Fleming 1EDD 6))

What is exclusive first person deixis?

Definition &xclusi#e first person deixis is deixis that refers to a group not including the addressee(s)"

What is inclusive first person deixis?

Definition Inclusi#e first person deixis is deixis that refers to a group including the addressee(s)"

What is second person deixis?

Definition 9econd person deixis is deictic reference to a person or persons identified as addressee" %xamples &%nglish'

you yourself yourselves your yours

Sources 5rystal 1EDV )@6 <artmann and 9tork 1EB) 1@D Oish 1EE1 1V@V Le#inson 1ED6 @) Fleming 1EDD 6))

What is third person deixis?

Definition *hird person deixis is deictic reference to a referent(s) not identified as the speaker or addressee" %xamples &%nglish'

he she they the third person singular #er! suffix )s <e sometimes flies.

What is obviative person deixis?

Definition 8!#iati#e person deixis is third person deixis that distinguishes a less important referent in the present stage of the discourse from a referent that is more important"

What is proximate person deixis?

Definition 7roximate person deixis is a third person deixis that distinguishes a referent that is more important at the present stage of the discourse from a referent that is less important" Sources 5rystal 1EDV )@6 <artmann and 9tork 1EB) 1@D Oish 1EE1 1))B

Le#inson 1ED6 @) (nderson, 9" and Meenan 1ED? )@1%)@) Fleming 1EDD 6))

What is place deixis?

Definition 7lace deixis is deictic reference to a location relati#e to the location of a participant in the speech e#ent, typically the speaker" %xamples &%nglish'

this <way= that <direction= here there Le#inson 1ED6 @)

Source)

What is boundedness?
Definition Poundedness is the presence or a!sence of a component of meaning indicati#e of a !order at the location indicated in an expression of place deixis" %xamples &%nglish expressions'

out there in there

(inds <ere are some kinds of !oundedness

What is !ounded deixisI

What is un!ounded deixisI

Source 'enny 1EBD-B>

What is social deixis?

Definition 9ocial deixis is reference to the social characteristics of, or distinctions !et een, the participants or referents in a speech e#ent" %xample _ *he distinction, found in many Indo:&uropean languages, !et een familiar and polite second person pronouns is an expression of social deixis " (inds <ere are some kinds of social deixis

What is a!solute social deixisI What is relational social deixisI

What is absolute social deixis?

Definition (!solute social deixis is deictic reference to some social characteristic of a referent (especially a person) apart from any relati#e ranking of referents" Discussion 8ften a!solute social deixis is expressed in certain forms of address" *he form of address ill include no comparison of the ranking of the speaker and addresseeK there ill !e only a simple reference to the a!solute status of the addressee" %xamples &%nglish'

3r. 4resident :our Honor

*eneric (!solute social deixis is a kind of

What is social deixisI

What is relational social deixis?

Definition Celational social deixis is deictic reference to a social relationship !et een the speaker and an addressee, !ystander, or other referent in the extralinguistic context" %xamples &$rench+ Southeast sian languages+ Dyir,al'

'istinctions !et een the French second person pronouns tu and vous 9peech le#els of 9outheast (sian languages that depend on the relati#e status of the speaker and addressee 'istinctions !et een lexical choices made in the presence of certain kin in 'yir!al

Source Le#inson 1EBE-)VB

What is time deixis?

Definition *ime deixis is reference to time relati#e to a temporal reference point" *ypically, this point is the moment of utterance" %xamples &%nglish'

*emporal ad#er!s
o o

now / then yesterday / today / tomorrow

'istinctions in tense

Source) Le#inson 1ED6 @)

Definition) ( ord or phrase (such as this7 that7 these7 those7 now7 then) that points to the time, place, or situation in hich the speaker is speaking" (lso kno n as deixis" 'eixis is expressed in &nglish !y ay of personal pronouns, demonstrati#es, and tense"