DEIXIS English Words Structure and Meanings Definition of

Definition of Deixis is “pointing language”. We use deictic expressions or indexicals to signal

Types of Deixis 1. REFERENTIAL DEIXIS • The ability of words to refer There

• Anaphoric Reference - Reference back to an antecedent noun phrase Cataphoric Reference

Spatial Deixis The words(this, that, those, these) used to situate the speaker or writer

Temporal Deixis Definition: - The use of language to anchor the speaker/ writer in

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DEIXIS English Words: Structure and Meanings

Definition of Deixis is “pointing language”. We use deictic expressions or indexicals to signal a referent and relate that referent to common ground shared by the speaker and the addressee. They situate the speaker and the addressee in relation to each other and the world around them. Ray Magliozzi : Tom Magliozz : Don’t drive like my brother

Types of Deixis 1. REFERENTIAL DEIXIS • The ability of words to refer There are 2 types of referential deixis ( Halliday and Hasan, 1976) A. Exophora - The words refer to the outside the text to the particular situational context - Context-dependent - Often in spoken texts B. Endophora - Words that refer to other words present in the text itself. - Help create cohesive ties in a text.

• Anaphoric Reference - Reference back to an antecedent noun phrase Cataphoric Reference - Reference that points forward in a text. - Often happen in a subordinate clause beginning a sentence that is followed by a main clause The referents can be generic or specific • Generic reference: - This will refer to all members of a class - Specific reference: Refers to specific members of class involves reference to an actual entity In a text, information that is new will have indefinite reference and information that is old will have definite reference.

Spatial Deixis The words(this, that, those, these) used to situate the speaker or writer spatially with respect to what these expressions are referring to. Also associated with the adverbs ‘here’ and ‘there’ and some uses of prepositions such as in or on. Proximal interpretation: - The words locate something close to the speaker. Distal interpretation: - Locate referents farther away from the speaker. The demonstratives can also refer ‘ to properties of such objects or to actions taking place or other abstract features of the situation of utterance’.

Temporal Deixis Definition: - The use of language to anchor the speaker/ writer in time - Marked linguistically by both temporal adverbials and tense markers (present and past) on verbs. Quirk et al (1985) say that the present tense can mark: a. Statements that are in effect timeless, ‘the state present’ b. Events that occur on a regular basis, ‘the habitual present’