ENGLISH LINGUISTICS II – Contextual Meaning: Deixis / Presupposition / Inference

Vocabulary flashcards covering deixis, time/space reference, discourse features, presupposition, and inference as presented in the lecture notes.

Deixis

Certain  linguistic  expressions  (deictics)  point  to  elements  of  the  communicative  situation,  e.g.   time,  place,  people/objects  involved.  (e.g.  Susie,  please,  put  it on  top  of  that  stuff over  there  in   my  cupboard  tomorrow  at  the  latest.)

Deictic expressions: 5 types

Linguistic items used to point to elements of the communicative situation (time, place, people/things).

①Demonstrative  pronouns:  these/those,  this/that  

②Personal  pronouns:  I,  we,  you,  he/she/it  

③Tense  markers:  fly,  flew,  will  fly,  had  flown  

④Adverbs  of  space/time:  here/there,  now/then  

⑤Motions  verbs:  come/go

SYMBOLIC  FIELD  

auto-­‐semantic  words  with  a   constant  meaning  that  enable   reference  independent  of  situation

автосемантичні слова з постійним значенням, що дозволяють посилання незалежно від ситуації  

e.g.

(NENNWÖRTER/SYMBOLFELD)

DEICTIC  FIELD  

largely  syn-­‐semantic  words  whose   reference  depends  on  the  elements  of  a   given  communicative  situation   (DEIKTIKA/ZEIGFELD)

GESTURAL AND SYMBOLIC USE OF DEIXIS

(1) She’s  not  the  principal;  she  is.  She’s  the  secretary.  (GESTURAL)  

(2) This  town  is  famous  for  its  small  antique  shops.  (SYMBOLIC)  

(3) Mary  wishes  that  she  could  visit  the  land  of  Lilliput.  (NON-­‐DEICTIC  USE)  

(4) If  you  travel  on  a  train  without  a  valid  ticket,  you  will  be  liable  to  pay  a  penalty   fare.  (NON-­‐DEICTIC  USE)

Deictic Centre (Origo)

The reference point (I, here, now) from which deictic interpretation is anchored.

a. Deictic  Centre/Origo:  I  –  Here  –  Now  (Speaker  Position)  

b. Deictic  Interpretation:  Reference  to  place,  people,  time,  discourse  elements  

e.g.  (1)  This  is  where  I  live.  (2)  That’s  where  I  went  to  school.

Types of Deixis

A PERSON DEIXIS identifies people

B TIME DEIXIS Identifies temporal points/spans

C SPACE DEIXIS identifies location in space

D DISCOURSE DEIXIS points to parts of text

Person(al) Deixis

Refers to how language identifies the participants in a speech event (speaker, addressee, others). It is mainly realized through pronouns and forms of address. (Huang 2007:136)

• Personal Pronouns

  • Mark person (I/he), number (I/we), gender (he/she).

  • Many languages (e.g. French tu/vous, German du/Sie) encode social distance or intimacy.

• Vocatives (Forms of Address)

  • Titles or names: Mr. President, Dear Madam, Beloved Joan.

• Inclusive vs. Exclusive we

  • Inclusive "we" → includes both speaker + listener.

    • Do we have time for that? (to a group, including addressee).

  • Exclusive "we" → includes speaker + others, but excludes listener.

    • Do we have time for that? (parent speaking to a child, but meaning “I”).

Social Deixis

Language that encodes the social status of the speaker, addressee, or third person, and their social relationships. (Huang 2007:163)

1. Types

• Absolute Social Deixis → Special honorifics/titles for people with recognized status.

  • Your Majesty, Your Highness, Mr. President, Professor

• Relative Social Deixis → Address forms that reflect socially negotiated relationships.

  • uncle, aunt, Sir/Mr, German Du/Sie

Space/Place Deixis

Words that show location in space relative to the speaker and hearer in a conversation.
(Huang 2007:149)

1. Basic Distinctions

• Proximal (near speaker): this, here, come

• Medial (near hearer): that (by you)

• Distal (far from both): yonder, there, go

2. Ways It’s Expressed

1. Demonstratives (pronouns): this/that, these/those

2. Adverbs of place: here, there

3. Motion verbs: come/go, arrive/depart, pour/fill

3. Other Spatial Expressions

• left/right, top/bottom, centre/periphery, foreground/background, above/below, over/under

Space/Place Deixis

TYPES OF SPATIAL DEIXIS

①INTRINSIC:  e.g.  The  dog  is  behind  the  car.  (location  determined  by  inherent   features  of  objects  such  as  sides,  front/back  etc.  

②RELATIVE:  e.g.  The  dog  is  to  the  left  of  the  car.  (location  determined  relative  to   an  egocentric  perspective,  i.e.  viewed  from  the  speaker’s  point  of  view;                       but  cf.  also  e.g.  Mary  is  standing  in  front  of  the  car.  (object/intrinsic  vs.  speaker-­‐ oriented  deixis)  

③  ABSOLUTE:  e.g.  The  dog  is  (to  the)  east  of  the  car.  (location  determined  by   reference  to  an  absolute  system  of  coordinates)  

④DIRECTIONALS:  e.g.  hither  –  here,  to  this  place/thither  –  there,  to  that  place/ whither  –  to  which  place;  come,  arrive  vs.  go,  depart  (indication  of  the  direction   of  motion)  

⑤DEICTIC  PROJECTION:  e.g.  (on  an  answering  machine)  I  am  not  here  now. (telling  a  story)  and  he  was  like:  ‘Oh,  she’s  never  here  with  me.  (the  deictic   centre  shirs  to  another  place  etc.)

Time/Temporal Deixis

Words/expressions that locate events in time relative to the moment of speaking.
(Huang 2007:144)

1. Types of Temporal Deixis

1. Time points → exact moments

   • eight o’clock, now, then

2. Time periods → spans with beginning & end

   • tomorrow evening, next week, in the morning

3. Calendric time units → fixed natural units

   • July, Monday, 2025

4. Non-calendric time units → relative spans

   • fortnight, weekend, semester

. TYPES OF TIME-DEICTIC MEANS

①DEICTIC  ADVERBS  OF  TIME:  proximal/distal  time  expression  (cf.  space),     e.g.  now/then  +    three-­‐part  system,  e.g.  yesterday  –  today  –  tomorrow

②TENSE:  the  grammatical  category  tense  encodes  time  of  actions,  events   etc.  and  operates  in  conjunction  with  time  adverbs;  four-­‐part  system:  e.g.   had  sailed  –  sailed  –  is  sailing  –  will  sail  (deictic  projection:  will  have  sailed)  

③ASPECT:  encodes  temporal  duration  and  relations  between  points  in  time,   e.g.  has  since  been  working,  is  still  working  

④REPORTED  SPEECH:  in  reported  speech  deictic  expressions  shir  from  the   proximal/immediate  time  to  the  distal/remote  time,  cf.  1)  Are  you   planning  to  be    here  this  evening,  2)  I  asked  here  whether  she  was  planning   to  be  there that  evening.  

⑤HYPOTHETIC  CONDITIONALS:  actions  relating  to  a  fictious  world  or  to  a   hypothetical  real  take  distal  time  deixis,  e.g.  If  I  was  you,  I  would  …;  If  I  had a  convertible,  I  would  …

Discourse/Text Deixis

Words or expressions that point to parts of the discourse itself — what has been said before, what is being said now, or what will follow.
(Huang 2007:172)

👉 They create cohesion in a text by linking propositions together.

1. Forward / Cataphoric (pointing ahead)

   • Let me make this clear: I did not lie to you.

   • Here is what I did: …

2. Backward / Anaphoric (pointing back)

   • They watched a movie last night. He liked that very much.

3. Spatial references inside texts

   • In this section… / see above / in the table opposite

4. Utterance-initial connectives

   • However (contrast)

   • Therefore (consequence)

   • Besides (addition)

   • Actually (correction)

Presupposition

background assumption speakers make when saying something.  

EXAMPLES Julie’s  flat  is  bright  and  spacious.  >>  She  has  a  flat.   He  so  much  wished  he  was  rich.  >>  He  is  not  rich.   I  wish  you  wouldn’t  always  take  my  bike.  >>  Someone  took  my  bike  before.

CONSTANCY (UNDER NEGATION ETC.)(Properties of Presuppositions)

A presupposition remains true even if the sentence is:

• Affirmative (statement)

• Negative (denial)

• Interrogative (question)

Example

1. He so much wished he was rich.

2. He never wished he was rich.

3. Does he ever wish he was rich?

-he is not rich

DEFEASIBILITY(Properties of Presuppositions)

Presuppositions are usually stable (constant under negation), but in certain contexts they can be cancelled (defeated) if they clash with background knowledge, implicatures, or discourse context.

(1)  John  died  before  he  finished  his  Ph.D.  

>>  John  finished  his  Ph.D.   (2)  If  John’s  organizing  a  party,  Mary  will  be  angry.  >>  John  is  organizing  a  party   (3)  There  is  no  king  of  France.  Therefore  the  king  of  France  isn’t  bald.  >>  There  is  a  king   of  France  

Types of Presuppositions

1. EXISTENTIAL PRESUPPOSITION e.g.  The  king  of  France  is  bald.  PreTy  Nina  married  the  rich  American.     >>  X  exists  (speaker  commits  himself  to  existence  of  entities  named)

2. FACTIVE/NON-FACTIVE PRESUPPOSITIONS e.g.  I  know  she’s  clever.  I’m  sad  he  didn’t  like  the  present.  >>  stating  a  true  fact   (following  verbs  of  cogni9on  (epistemic)/emotion  (emotive)   e.g.  I  imagined  we  were  there.  She  pretends  to  be  diligent.  >>  sth.  is  not  true

3. COUNTERFACTUAL PRESUPPOSITIONS e.g.  If  I  weren’t  ill  I  would  …  >>  info  is  not  true/counter  to  the  truth  

4. LEXICAL/STRUCTURAL PRESUPPOSITIONS e.g.  He  didn’t  manage  to  quit  smoking.  She  let  him  down  him  once  again.   (presupposition  generated  by  lexical  item)   e.g.  When  did  he  call  the  police?  It’s  not  the  food  that  makes  him  sick. (presupposition  generated  by  grammatical  structure)

Presupposition Triggers

1. ITERATIVES: e.g.  She  resumed  her  job  at  the  museum.  She  had  yet  another  slice  of   toast.  (v./adv./adj.  that  express  repeated  ac9on)

2. CHANGE OF STATE PREDICATES: e.g.  He  turned  frugal  and  thriSy.  (v.  that  express   a  change  of  state)

3. IMPLICATIVE PREDICATES: e.g.  The  university  failed  to  be  ranked  in  the  top  ten. (v.  that  imply  another  ac9on/meaning)  

4. TEMPORAL CLAUSES:  e.g.  ASer  she  made  it  a  habit  to  eat  regularly,  her  stomach   pains  disappeared.  (subordinate  clauses)  

5. CLEFT SENTENCES:  e.g.  It  wasn’t  the  sports  that  helped  improve  her  health.

6. COMPARATIVE:  e.g.  Germany  is  even  more  bureaucra;c  than  Switzerland.  Rather   than  give  her  flowers  he  should’ve  chosen  something  fancier  as  a  present.  

7. STRESS:  e.g.  Usually  quarrels  are  his  fault.  This  ;me  she  insulted  HIM.  

8. PARTICLES:  e.g.  The  interior  is  also  spectacular.  

Inference

All the hidden or implicit information that listeners/readers can derive from text/discourse (beyond what is explicitly said).

1. Entailment (logical inferences)

   • Something that must logically be true if the statement is true.

   • Example: Harry caught three pike.
     → Inference: Harry caught three fish.

2. Conventional Implicature (relational inferences)

   • Meaning that comes from particular connecting words (but, therefore, even), regardless of context.

   • Example: I wanted blue, but I chose gray.
     → Inference: Contrast with expectation (blue ≠ gray).

3. Connotation (lexical inferences)

   • Extra associations/meanings that come with certain words.

   • Example: She arrived in high heels, ballroom dress, and a Land Rover.
     → Inference: Land Rover = rural, rugged lifestyle.

4. Metaphor / Metonymy (conceptual inferences)

   • Meaning derived by mapping one concept onto another.

   • Example: He devoured the book in one go.
     → Inference: He read it quickly and intensely.

   • Example: She savored every page.
     → Inference: She read slowly, enjoying the language.

Entailments

A logical consequence that follows from a sentence; it may not remain true if the sentence is negated.

2. EXAMPLES Pete  bought  oranges.  (=  Pete  bought  fruit.)   Unfortunately,  he  completely  forgot  about  them.  After  several  weeks  his   cupboard  started  to  smell  of  spoiled  fruit.  

NECESSARY/POSSIBLE INFERENCES – FORWARD/BACKWARD INFERENCES

• Necessary inferences: Required to understand the discourse; must be true based on the text.

  • Example (backward): Vase was thrown → Vase is broken.

  • Example (forward): Neighbors having a party → There will be noise.

• Possible inferences: Can be inferred but are not essential for understanding.

  • Example: Husband threw vase → He had been angry for weeks.