Chapter 2
What does deixis tell us about motion typology?
Linguistic or cultural variations of speakers’ “here” space vis-à-vis perceived physical events
This chapter discusses whether Deixis is genuinely a subcomponent of Path, as defined in Talmy’s motion typology. Although previous studies have already pointed out several characteristics of Deixis that distinguish it from other non-Deictic Path components, its typological status remains vague and should be better defined. In this chapter, based on a video-based production experiment in Japanese and French, I argue that Deictic verbs have a functional meaning in both languages, and that this functional meaning of Deixis can be considered a subcomponent of Path, as it is motivated by the speaker’s and Figure’s relative position and Ground schema. Based on analyses with reference to different Deictic expressions, I also propose another typology of the ways in which speakers of different languages organize their “here” space vis-à-vis perceived physical events.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 1.1Deixis in the typology and literature
- 1.2Problems and aims of this study
- 2.Deictic expressions in a video-based production experiment
- 2.1Deictic components in this study
- 2.2Design and method of the experiment
- 2.3Results and discussions
- 2.3.1Deixis as a physical direction in andative and venitive directions
- 2.3.2Different extension of the speaker’s “here” space in neutral motion
- 2.3.3Verb versus adpositional phrase, or functional versus spatial Deixis
- 3.General discussion
- 3.1Is Deixis still a component of Path?
- 3.2Toward another typology through investigations of Deixis
- 4.Conclusion
-
Acknowledgement
-
Notes
-
Abbreviations
-
References
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Cited by
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Tuuri, Emilia & Maija Belliard
2024.
Boundary-crossing situations and the use of deictic verbs in Finnish and Estonian expressions of non-actual motion.
Acta Linguistica Hafniensia ► pp. 1 ff.
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