(Tiểu luận) discussion subject english pragmatics topic deixis and distance

Third person deixis is a deictic reference toa referents not identified as the speaker or addressee and usually implies the genderthat the utterance refers to, for example: he, she, they

THUONG MAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY

DISCUSSION SUBJECT: ENGLISH PRAGMATICS

Topic Deixis and Distance

1 21D170205 Nguyễn Thị Hằng Definition of Deixis

and Deictic center

2 21D170120 Nguyễn Thanh Huyền Person deixis

3 21D170020 Phạm Mai Linh Spatial deixis

4 21D170278 Hoàng Thị Thu Trang Temporal deixis

5 20D170103 Phạm Thị Phương Thảo Discourse deixis

6 21D170202 Nguyễn Thu Hà Social deixis

7 21D170152 Trịnh Thanh Bình Deixis usage

8 21D170122 Vũ Thị Hương Deixis and grammar

- Vote leader and secretary

- Require all members to make the outline2

2023 - Be a unified way of working (submit

deadline via gg drive, exchange work via chat group at Zalo)

- Assign duties The 2nd

meeting

- Online via gg meet

- At 9pm on August 17,

2023

- Test run and balance the time, correct the unreasonable things

Presentation - On August 18, 2023 - Present

OUTLINE

A INTRODUCTION 5

B MAIN BODY 6

I Definition of Deixis and Deictic center 6

1 Definition 6

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2 Deictic center 6

II Types of deixis 7

1 Personal deixis 7

2 Spatial deixis 9

3 Temporal deixis 12

4 Discourse Deixis 14

5 Social deixis 16

III Relationship between deixis and grammar 18

1 Deixis usage 18

2 Deixis and grammar 19

C CONCLUSION 20

EXERCISE: 22

D REFERENCES 31

A INTRODUCTION

Deixis is viewed as it introduces subjective, attentional, intentional as well as context-dependent properties into natural languages It can be viewed as a much more pervasive feature of languages than normally recognized one This may lead to a complicated treatment within formal theories of semantics and pragmatics Deixis is also critical for our ability to learn a language, which philosophers for centuries have linked to the possibility of comprehensive definition Deixis is referenced by means of

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an expression whose interpretation is relative to the (usually) extralinguistic context ofthe utterance, such as who is speaking the time or place of speaking the gestures of thespeaker, or the current location in the discourse.

In this essay, our group will present the topic: “Deixis and distance: Types ofdeixis; relationship between deixis and grammar.”

B MAIN BODY

I Definition of Deixis and Deictic center

1 Definition

Deixis is a technical term (from Greek) which means ‘pointing’ via language

Any linguistic form used to “point” is a deictic expression Deictic expressions

are also called indexicals The indexicals include person deixis to indicate people,spatial deixis to indicate location and temporal deixis to indicate time Words like

and , as well as most pronouns, such as and are deictic expressions In linguistics and in philosophy of language, an

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indexical behavior or utterance symbolically points to (or indicates) some state ofaffairs.

refers to whoever is speaking;

refers to the time at which that word is uttered;

refers to the place of utterance

Deixis usually requires a speaker and hearer sharing the same context It is anapplication of a general pragmatic principle which says that the more two speakershave in common, the less language they will need to identify familiar things

2 Deictic center

Deixis refers to the context of the speaker either using “near speaker” (proximalterms) or “away from speaker” (distal terms) of deictic expressions There is a basicdistinction between things “near” or “away from” the speaker

Proximal terms: this, here, now

Distal terms: that, there, then

Proximal terms are typically interpreted in terms of the speaker's location, orthe deictic center, so that “now” is generally understood as referring to some point orperiod in time that has the time of the speaker's utterance at its center Distal terms cansimply indicate “away from the speaker"

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II Types of deixis

1 Personal deixis

1.1 Definition:

Personal deixis refers to the way language points to the participants in aconversation It involves the use of words and expressions that refer to the speaker(first person), the listener (second person), and others (third person) Personal deixis isessential in communication as it helps to identify who is speaking, who is beingaddressed, and who is being referred to

1.2 Three forms of personal deixis:

Those directly involved- the speaker and the person/people addressed:

I am learning English

Can you open the door?

Third parties not involved in the exchange but the subject of it:

She's standing next to you

People mentioned in the exchange but not nearby or involved in it:

I wanted to be here earlier, but they delayed me

1.3 Kinds:

The first person deixis is a reference that refers to thespeaker or both speaker and referent grouped with the speaker, which is expressed insingular pronouns (I, me, myself, mine) and plural pronouns (we, us, ourselves, our,ours)

The second person deixis is a deictic reference to aperson or people identified as addressees, such as you, yourself, yourselves, your,yours

Third person deixis is a deictic reference to

a referent(s) not identified as the speaker or addressee and usually implies the genderthat the utterance refers to, for example: he, she, they, him, himself, her, herself

In many languages, these deictic categories of speaker, addressee, and other(s)are elaborated with markers of relative social status (for example, addressee withhigher status versus addressee with lower status) Expressions that indicate higherstatus are described as honorifics

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Third-person pronouns are distal forms in terms of person deixis.

The third person is not a direct participant in basic interaction

Using a third-person form where a second-person form would be possible is oneway of communicating distance (and non-familiarity)

Communicating distance:

● An ironic or humorous purpose

Eg: Would like some juice?

(one person, who is very busy in the kitchen, addresses another, who's beingvery lazy.)

● Make potential accusations less direct

didn't close the door after himself

(Instead of saying, “You didn’t close the door,”)

● Make a potentially personal issue seem like an impersonal one

has to close the door after himself or herself

( instead of saying, “You didn’t close the door,” )

● State general 'rules'

close the door after ourselves around here

( instead of saying, “You didn’t close the door,” )

In English, There is an exclusive 'we' (speaker plus other(s), excludingaddressee) and an inclusive 'we' (speaker and addressee included)

In English, the ambiguity present in 4 provides a subtle opportunity for a hearer

to decide what was communicated Either the hearer decides that he or she is amember of the group to whom the rule applies (i.e., an addressee) or an outsider towhom the rule does not apply (i.e., not an addressee) In this case, the hearer gets todecide the kind of 'more' that is being communicated

Eg: Shall we go to the park?

-> We-inclusive: includes the listener(s)

Eg: We want to eat pizza, but you want to eat soup

-> We-exclusive: excludes the listener(s)

The inclusive-exclusive distinction may also be noted in the difference betweensaying 'Let's go' (to some friends) and 'Let us go (to someone who has captured the

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speaker and friends) The action of going is inclusive in the first but exclusive in thesecond.

2 Spatial deixis

2.1 Definition

Spatial deixis describes the way language refers to spatial locations, such as those related to the speaker and the listener It involves the use of spatial markers and indicators, such as adverbs, pronouns, and prepositions, to indicate the location of objects or events in space

2.2 Types of spatial deixis

In Modern English there are essentially two forms:

a Near the speaker (proximal deixis): referring to what is close to the speaker - think of 'this', 'here', 'these'

This

here These

b Far from the speaker (distal deixis): refers to what is distant, or away, from the speaker; usually, these would be: 'that', 'there', and 'those'

there That

those

However we still cannot denote the complete meaning of the utterance unless there is certain contexts in the speech, hence “here, there, this, these” might refer to every kind of area and object being this a room, a city, a apple or a country

2.3 Forms of spatial deixis

+ Relative position which describes from where the person is, was or will be Therefore it depends on the position of the speaker If the speaker moves, the sentence may no longer be true:

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+ Absolute position is often relative to something else, in which the speaker's position is irrelevant According to Huddleston and Pullim (2006, p 150) the choice of

a demonstrative does not always depend on the position of the speaker According to them the demonstratives can also refer “to properties of such objects or to actions taking place or other abstract features of the situation of utterance” In this case spatial deixis is used as a form of orientation in a discourse

The sentence remains true wherever the speaker is:

opposite / outside / near the school south of Spain (The sentence remains true wherever the

speaker is because the prepositional phrase contains geographic feature of the situation

of utterance, which pointing the specific location of the house mentioned is in Spain)

b)

that picture this disc

As seen from the examples demonstratives are used to denote certain items that are positioned either close or distant to the speaker

The most frequent words that carry deictic, which are respectively the words this/ that and these/ those According to (LoCastro, 2012:p 25), a crucial point regarding spatial deixis is that distance from the speaker or addressee could be psychological and not simply physical That is, it depends on the speaker’s affective stance towards the addressee or situation For instance, psychological distance can be conveyed via the speaker uttering “I don’t like that, referring to the behavior of a child standing right in front of the speaker”

Adverbs: In addition, there are some kinds of spatial adverbs that locate objects

or items in different positions relative to the speaker:

there

here or there

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“Here”, “there” are adverbs which pointing the intended place to put down the object is around the speaker’s environment.

2.4 Spatial deixis in English

In English, it is often the case that we project ourselves into another place Weget, for example, when speaking on the telephone to someone who is at home:

In this case, the addressee is not in the same place as the speaker and is near to

or in the speaker's home In effect, we are imagining speaking from where the listener

is, not where we are

Alternatively, when addressing someone who is in the same place, we will hear:because there is no need to move the deictic center The verb simply indicatesmovement away from the current location

It bears repeating that languages differ in the use of simple verbs like this and it

is a source of error

In fact, in English, not moving the deictic center may result in confusion or bedeliberately done for comic or dramatic effect Consider the old Tommy Cooper (anEnglish comedian) joke:

So I rang the guesthouse bell and a lady opened the window and said:

"What do you want?"

"I want to stay here," I replied

"Well stay there, then," she said and shut the window

The key to getting the joke lies in the visitor and landlady's differentunderstandings of here and where the deictic center should be

3 Temporal deixis

3.1 Definition

Temporal deixis or time deixis: Temporal deixis, or time deixis, concerns itself

with the various times involved in and referred to in an utterance In other words,temporal deixis is the expression, which is used to point out time It involves the use oftemporal expressions such as "now", "then", "yesterday", "tomorrow", "last week",

"next month", and so on

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Temporal deixis is important in understanding the meaning of a sentence, as it allowsthe listener or reader to determine when the event being referred to occurred or willoccur.

3.2 Types of temporal deixis

Proximal and distal form (Now and Then)

and are the two pure noun deictics that Anderson and Keenan (1985: 297)called temporal demonstratives

Now designates Proximal Time: indicates both the timecoinciding with the speaker's utterance and the time of the speaker's voice being heard(the hearer's now)

Then refers to Distal Time and can be reduced to meaning ‘notnow’ It can apply to both past and future time relative to the speaker's present time

(1) I am climbing now (present)

(2) In 2005, I was a kid then (past)

(3) I will meet you then (future)

Calendar time and clock time

and are forms of reference

is the time-measure period, a fixed-length sequence of naturallygiven units

(1) May, July, Thursday, etc

(2) I will start working on Thursday

is the time measure period that is used only as units of measurerelative to some fixed points of interest

(1) fortnight, morning, evening, afternoon, etc

(2) I often do exercise in the morning

Deictic expressions

Temporal deictic expressions include “yesterday, today, tonight, this week, nextmonth, from now on, in the future, last year,…”

(1) I am going to study abroad in Australia next month

(2) We had a picnic last week

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All these expressions depend on their interpretation of knowing the time ofutterance

● Time the utterance was made =coding time(CT)

● Time the utterance is heard/read =receiving time(RT)

Complications in written messages and pre-recordings of media programs (1) I will be back in an hour

If we don't know the utterance time of a note on an office door, we won't knowwhether we have a short or a long wait ahead

(2) Get a 50% sale only tomorrow

If you know the store has just hung the billboards about the sale If you returnthe next day to a store, you definitely get a voucher for a 50% sale

· Psychological basis of temporal deixis

The psychological basis of temporal deixis seems to be similar to that of spatialdeixis Temporal events can be treated as objects that move toward us (into view) ormove away from us (out of view) One metaphor used in English is of events comingtoward the speaker from the future (for example, ‘the coming week’, ‘the approachingyear’) and going away from the speaker to the past (for example, ‘in days gone by’,

‘the past week’) We also treat the near or immediate future as being close to utterancetime by using the proximal deictic ‘this’, as in ‘this (coming) weekend’ or this(coming) Thursday

Distance and Tense

In English, temporal deixis is expressed by adverbs of time and tense markers

on the verb There are two tenses in English that are morphologically marked on verbs

They are the present and the past To refer to events taking place in the future

English uses modal verbs, will or shall and the phrasal modal be going to

Tenses represent the time relations in connection to a given point in time Thepresent tense is proximal and the past tense is distal form The past tenses determine adistant event, speech, or place from the speaker’s current situation

- Present: an event/action simultaneously to the speech act

:

I see you now (this is nearer to the current time, proximal form)

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- Past: an event/action before the speech act occurred at a specific time in thepast and finished at a specific time in the past

:

I had an internship in this company then (this communicates distance from

current time, distal form)

- Future: an event/action after the speech act

: Then will I take you to visit him (future, distal form)

Something that is treated as extremely unlikely or impossible from thespeaker’s current situation is also marked via the distal (past tense) form The pasttense is always used in English in those, If-clause that mark event presented by thespeaker as not being close to present reality So the distal form is used to communicatenot only distance from current reality or facts

:

If I had a lot of money now, I would buy this car for you

(this communicate distance from current reality, distal form)

Temporal Deixis is relevant to various other deictic elements in language:Greetings: Good morning (can only be used in the morning)

Expressions: the former president, my ex-roommate

4 Discourse Deixis

4.1 Definition

Discourse deixis also referred to as text deixis, is related to the use of alinguistic expression within some utterances to point to the current, preceding, orfollowing utterances in the speaker or written discourse

4.2 Roles of discourse deixis

- Discourse deixis plays a crucial role in maintaining cohesion and coherence inconversations and texts

- It helps connect different parts of the discourse and ensures that theconversation or text flows smoothly

- Indexical discourse like

It should help tostructure the discourse and to range the current utterance in chronological order

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- These expressions make it easier for the listener or reader to understand therelationships between various elements; understand how different parts of thediscourse are related and connected, contributing to the overall comprehension of theconversation or text.

In summary, discourse deixis serves as a valuable tool for creating cohesion,coherence, and structure in conversations and texts By referring back or forward toelements within the ongoing discourse, speakers, and writers help the audienceunderstand the relationships between different parts of the communication, leading tomore effective and engaging conversations and texts

4.3 For example:

- Sentence: ‘This is a great story.’

And: In sentence: ‘That was an amazing account.’

* Distinguish discourse deixis and spatial deixis.

- Unlike traditional deixis, specific Spatial Deixis, which involves expressionslike "this," "that," "here," and "there" that rely on the immediate physical context,involves linguistic elements that indicate the location of entities in relation to thespeaker and/or the listener;

- Meanwhile, discourse deixis relies on the context of the ongoing conversation

or text Examples include "this," "that," "here," and "there" when used to refer to parts

of the conversation that link the preceding or following paragraphs of a discourse

In essence, discourse deixis relates to the conversation itself, and spatial deixis relates

to location

● Another example of discourse deixis in action:

Imagine a conversation between two people, Alex and Taylor:

In this example, Taylor's use of "that's interesting" is an instance of discoursedeixis The expression "that's interesting" refers back to Alex's previous statement "I

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went to the store yesterday." It helps Taylor establish a connection between theircurrent utterance and the previous part of the conversation.

This kind of reference to earlier parts of the discourse helps maintain coherenceand guides the flow of conversation

5 Social deixis

5.1 Definition

Social deixis is the study that relates to participant roles, particularly the aspect

of the social relationship holding between speaker and addressee or speaker or somereferent Social deixis concerns the words to call the hearer or the addressee.(Fillmore, 1975) stated that “Social deixis concerns that aspect of sentenceswhich reflect or establish or determined by certain realities of the social situation inwhich the speech act occurs.” In other words, we can say that social deixis is a kind ofexpression used to categorize some people based on their social situations

5.2 The function of social deixis

According to Levinson (1983: 89), social deixis is to demonstrate socialdifferences, particularly those pertaining to social interactions between the speaker andthe listener or between the speaker and other participants The speaker also employssocial discourse to demonstrate respect and courtesy to the other addressee Socialdeixis focuses on linguistic markers that reflect social hierarchies, power dynamics,and social roles within speech Social deixis helps to establish and negotiate socialrelationships, politeness strategies, and social norms within communication

5.3 Factors influencing the use of social deixis.

The use of social deixis can be influenced by three different factors: socialstatus, intimacy, and formality/informality

Cruse (2000: 322) stated that “One which incontrovertibly does is whererelative social status of speaker and hearer is signaled” The difference in socialstatus between the speaker and the listener is one thing that is clearly marked andcan affect the role of participants in the speech act

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Cruse (2000: 323) stated that “One factor is usually described by some suchterms as 'social distance’ that can be called intimacy between the speaker and thelistener People are more likely to use social discourse with those who they are close

to, such as family and friends Conversely, people are less likely to use social discoursewith those who they are not close to, such as strangers or acquaintances

Cruse (2000: 323) stated “The deciding factor seems to be the formality orinformality of the situation” The situation of formality/informality becomes adetermining factor to use social deixis in a speech act

5.4 Types of social deixis

(Levinson, 1983) Relational deixis refers to some social referent characteristicsapart from relative levels or deictic reference to the social relationship betweenspeaker and addressee

Relational social deixis is manifested by 4 relationships: speaker and referent,speakers and addressee, speaker and bystander, and speakers and setting

Relational social deictic expressions are usually pronouns, kinship terms,personal names or nicknames, and occupational address terms show intimacy,friendship and closeness between the participants in communication

(Levinson, 1983) Absolute social deixis describes the deixis reference, which isusually expressed in a certain form of address, which does not include any rankingcomparison between the speaker and the addressee

Absolute deixis is a deixis form that is not related to the relationship but moreabsolute

The deictic words of absolute social deixis cannot be separated from theconcept

of honorifics The term usually used in this type are name of the job, title address,social status which show the higher and lower social status between a speaker and anaddressee

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