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Neglected Aspects of Motion-Event Description: Deixis, asymmetries, constructions
Edited by Laure Sarda and Benjamin Fagard
[Human Cognitive Processing 72] 2022
► pp. 25–41

Chapter 2
What does deixis tell us about motion typology?

Linguistic or cultural variations of speakers’ “here” space vis-à-vis perceived physical events

ORCID logo | Kyoto University
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.
Keywords: functional meaning, French, Japanese, Path components, video experiment
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
Published online: 7 July 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/hcp.72.02mor
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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 56:1 ► pp. 58 ff. DOI logo

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