2. Deictic reference in space
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Peter Auer
Abstract
In this chapter, we present an approach to spatial deixis as co-participants’ embodied and situationally embedded practices of co-orientation and joint attention to entities in their sensory reach. These practices combine gaze, pointing (by different means) and other bodily practices with verbal resources provided by the respective language systems. Such an approach to deictic reference also provides the foundations for the analysis of the “lived space” and how it is constructed in interaction. We claim that an appropriate starting point for the investigation of deictic reference is Bühler’s theory of the deictic field (Zeigfeld), which is a strictly ego-centric theory. We link Bühler’s approach to phenomenological work on deixis that foregrounds the primordial role of the body (Leib) as the origo of all spatial indices. Against this background, we further discuss the structuration of space through spatial demonstratives of proximity and distance and show that a “sociocentric” approach to spatial deixis is not adequate, even though the establishment of joint attention via deixis is a deeply interactional process. Finally, we show how Bühler’s ego-centric theory accounts for more complex forms of deixis in the imagination. We discuss examples for Bühler’s first and second case of deixis in the imagination and conclude with a case of hybrid referential practices in electronic media, drawing on an example from a virtual reality game
Abstract
In this chapter, we present an approach to spatial deixis as co-participants’ embodied and situationally embedded practices of co-orientation and joint attention to entities in their sensory reach. These practices combine gaze, pointing (by different means) and other bodily practices with verbal resources provided by the respective language systems. Such an approach to deictic reference also provides the foundations for the analysis of the “lived space” and how it is constructed in interaction. We claim that an appropriate starting point for the investigation of deictic reference is Bühler’s theory of the deictic field (Zeigfeld), which is a strictly ego-centric theory. We link Bühler’s approach to phenomenological work on deixis that foregrounds the primordial role of the body (Leib) as the origo of all spatial indices. Against this background, we further discuss the structuration of space through spatial demonstratives of proximity and distance and show that a “sociocentric” approach to spatial deixis is not adequate, even though the establishment of joint attention via deixis is a deeply interactional process. Finally, we show how Bühler’s ego-centric theory accounts for more complex forms of deixis in the imagination. We discuss examples for Bühler’s first and second case of deixis in the imagination and conclude with a case of hybrid referential practices in electronic media, drawing on an example from a virtual reality game
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Preface to the handbook series v
- Preface ix
- Table of Contents xi
- 1. Doing space: The pragmatics of language and space 1
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I. Describing space through language
- 2. Deictic reference in space 23
- 3. The conceptualization of space in signed languages: Placing the signer in narratives 63
- 4. Spatiality in written texts 95
- 5. Interactional onomastics: Place names as malleable resources 125
- 6. Describing motion events 153
- 7. Discourses of place: The formation of space and place through discourse 181
- 8. Imaginary spaces in storytelling 209
- 9. Developmental perspectives on doing talk about space 251
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II. Spatial organization of social interaction
- 10. Encounters in public places: The establishment of interactional space in face-to-face openings 281
- 11. Interactional spaces in stationary, mobile, video-mediated and virtual encounters 317
- 12. The pragmatics of gesture and space 363
- 13. Distance and closeness: The im/politeness of space in communication 399
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III. Communicative resources of constructed spaces
- 14. Architecture-for-interaction: Built, designed and furnished space for communicative purposes 431
- 15. Building, dwelling, and interacting: Steps in the evolution of public space from Paleolithic to present 473
- 16. The pragmatics of linguistic landscapes 523
- 17. The pragmatics of written texts in space 549
- 18. Co-presence and beyond: Spatial configurations of communication in virtual environments 579
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IV. Pragmatics across space and cultures
- 19. Pragmatic variation across geographical and social space 611
- 20. Pragmatic variation across national varieties of pluricentric languages 637
- 21. Mapping perceptions and knowledge of language: Societal multilingualism and its sociopragmatic grounding 679
- Bionotes 715
- Author index 727
- Subject index 735
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Preface to the handbook series v
- Preface ix
- Table of Contents xi
- 1. Doing space: The pragmatics of language and space 1
-
I. Describing space through language
- 2. Deictic reference in space 23
- 3. The conceptualization of space in signed languages: Placing the signer in narratives 63
- 4. Spatiality in written texts 95
- 5. Interactional onomastics: Place names as malleable resources 125
- 6. Describing motion events 153
- 7. Discourses of place: The formation of space and place through discourse 181
- 8. Imaginary spaces in storytelling 209
- 9. Developmental perspectives on doing talk about space 251
-
II. Spatial organization of social interaction
- 10. Encounters in public places: The establishment of interactional space in face-to-face openings 281
- 11. Interactional spaces in stationary, mobile, video-mediated and virtual encounters 317
- 12. The pragmatics of gesture and space 363
- 13. Distance and closeness: The im/politeness of space in communication 399
-
III. Communicative resources of constructed spaces
- 14. Architecture-for-interaction: Built, designed and furnished space for communicative purposes 431
- 15. Building, dwelling, and interacting: Steps in the evolution of public space from Paleolithic to present 473
- 16. The pragmatics of linguistic landscapes 523
- 17. The pragmatics of written texts in space 549
- 18. Co-presence and beyond: Spatial configurations of communication in virtual environments 579
-
IV. Pragmatics across space and cultures
- 19. Pragmatic variation across geographical and social space 611
- 20. Pragmatic variation across national varieties of pluricentric languages 637
- 21. Mapping perceptions and knowledge of language: Societal multilingualism and its sociopragmatic grounding 679
- Bionotes 715
- Author index 727
- Subject index 735
