DEIXIS

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Deictic Word

Definition• Deictic Word : one which takes some

element of its meaning from the situation ( the speaker, the addressee, the time and the place) of the utterance in which it is used.

• The general phenomenon of its occurrence is called Deixis

Some Types of Deixis

1. Personal deixis:· First person (Speaker: I, we, they)· Second person (hearer: you, he, she, it)

Eg : • I am going to the movies.• Would you  like to have dinner?• She wants to get the best score in the final

exam.

2. Spatial deixis:– Determiners: this/that

– Verbs specifying motion toward/away from speaker: come, go, etc.• Go to the school(the speaker is not at school)

– Adverbs (intransitive prepositions): here/there

If Riyanti is preparing to travel to Paris city, her mother says:

If a visitor coming back from Hawai says:

“You should bring warm clothes, the weather is cold there”

“I took many beautiful places

there.”

Deictic Word

3. Temporal deixis:– Adverbs: now/then; this year/that year; at

this/that point; yesterday; two days ago; last week.

– Tense: present tense (proximal) : Now– and both past and future tense (distal) :

Tomorrow, Then.

• Eg:

“Tomorrow is Sunday”"I saw him last week"

Can you point out which words are deictic?

“I was there yesterday”

“I was there yesterday”

Personal Spatial Temporal

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