How do you use Deictic in a sentence? See 10+ example sentences showing how this word appears in different contexts, including synonyms like semantics or word, plus the exact meaning.
Deictic in a sentence
Deictic meaning
- Of or pertaining to deixis; to a word whose meaning is dependent on context.
- Directly pointing out; specifying.
Using Deictic
- The main meaning on this page is: Of or pertaining to deixis; to a word whose meaning is dependent on context. | Directly pointing out; specifying.
- Useful related words include: semantics, deictic word, word.
- In the example corpus, deictic often appears in combinations such as: deictic expressions, deictic center, the deictic.
Context around Deictic
- Average sentence length in these examples: 25.5 words
- Position in the sentence: 6 start, 6 middle, 4 end
- Sentence types: 16 statements, 0 questions, 0 exclamations
Corpus analysis for Deictic
- In this selection, "deictic" usually appears near the start of the sentence. The average example has 25.5 words, and this corpus slice is mostly made up of statements.
- Around the word, non, frequently, absolute, expressions, center and words stand out and add context to how "deictic" is used.
- Recognizable usage signals include a non deictic usage of and as deictic expressions are. That gives this page its own corpus information beyond isolated example sentences.
- By corpus frequency, "deictic" sits close to words such as aaaa, abductees and abdulahi, which helps place it inside the broader word index.
Example types with deictic
The same corpus examples are grouped by length and sentence type, making it easier to see the contexts in which the word appears:
Deictic categories in the semantics of ‘come’. (7 words)
Tenses are generally separated into absolute (deictic) and relative tenses. (10 words)
Gestural deixis refers, broadly, to deictic expressions whose understanding requires some sort of audio-visual information. (16 words)
Because the word there can also be a deictic adverb (meaning "at/to that place"), a sentence like There is a river could have either of two meanings: "a river exists" (with there as a pronoun), and "a river is in that place" (with there as an adverb). (48 words)
However, deictic expressions can also be used in such a way that the deictic center is transferred to other participants in the exchange, or to persons / places / etc. being described in a narrative. (33 words)
Plurality is marked by various means, including the definite article (singular te, plural ngā), deictic particles "tērā rākau" (that tree), "ērā rākau" (those trees), possessives "taku whare" (my house), "aku whare" (my houses). (33 words)
Example sentences (16)
However, deictic expressions can also be used in such a way that the deictic center is transferred to other participants in the exchange, or to persons / places / etc. being described in a narrative.
Usages of deixis It is helpful to distinguish between two usages of deixis, gestural and symbolic, as well as non-deictic usages of frequently deictic words.
According to many scholars it only comprises a small number of monosyllabic lexical roots, including the personal pronouns and a few other deictic and auxiliary items.
As deictic expressions are frequently egocentric, the center often consists of the speaker at the time and place of the utterance, and additionally, the place in the discourse and relevant social factors.
Because the word there can also be a deictic adverb (meaning "at/to that place"), a sentence like There is a river could have either of two meanings: "a river exists" (with there as a pronoun), and "a river is in that place" (with there as an adverb).
Deictic categories in the semantics of ‘come’.
Demonstratives have a deictic function, and include tēnei, this (near me), tēnā, that (near you), tērā, that (far from us both), and taua, the aforementioned.
Gestural deixis refers, broadly, to deictic expressions whose understanding requires some sort of audio-visual information.
In a similar vein, :I went to this city one time … is a non-deictic usage of "this", which does not reference anything specific.
Plurality is marked by various means, including the definite article (singular te, plural ngā), deictic particles "tērā rākau" (that tree), "ērā rākau" (those trees), possessives "taku whare" (my house), "aku whare" (my houses).
Similarly, when telling a story about someone, the deictic center is likely to switch to them.
Tenses are generally separated into absolute (deictic) and relative tenses.
The former is used as if the words being used were those of another, which are therefore pivoted to a deictic center different from the speech situation of the report.
The most salient English examples are the adverbs “here” and “there” and the demonstratives “this” and “that” - although those are far from being the only deictic words.
The rule of thumb to distinguish the two phenomena is as follows: when an expression refers to another linguistic expression or a piece of discourse, it is discourse deictic.
Unless otherwise specified, place deictic terms are generally understood to be relative to the location of the speaker, as in :The shop is across the street.
Common combinations with deictic
These word pairs occur most frequently in English texts: