Demonstratives in Cross-Linguistic Perspective

The definitive guide to demonstratives, which play a key role in language acquisition and use.

Stephen C. Levinson (Edited by), Sarah Cutfield (Edited by), Michael J. Dunn (Edited by), N. J. Enfield (Edited by), Sérgio Meira (Edited by)

9781108440028, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 11 March 2021

403 pages, 47 b/w illus. 69 tables
23 x 15 x 2.5 cm, 0.59 kg

'Reporting on demonstratives in fifteen nearly all unrelated and 'exotic' languages, each language is studied with an identical, interactive elicitation technique, resulting in very detail language-specific descriptions as well as a typological sketch of the key parameters of variation. Even if readers already know that there is much more to this, that and the other than a proximal verus distal distinction, this book is a must.' Johan van der Auwera, Universiteit Antwerpen

Demonstratives play a crucial role in the acquisition and use of language. Bringing together a team of leading scholars this detailed study, a first of its kind, explores meaning and use across fifteen typologically and geographically unrelated languages to find out what cross-linguistic comparisons and generalizations can be made, and how this might challenge current theory in linguistics, psychology, anthropology and philosophy. Using a shared experimental task, rounded out with studies of natural language use, specialists in each of the languages undertook extensive fieldwork for this comparative study of semantics and usage. An introduction summarizes the shared patterns and divergences in meaning and use that emerge.

Introduction: demonstratives – patterns in diversity Stephen C. Levinson
1. The demonstrative questionnaire: 'this' and 'that' in comparative perspective David P. Wilkins
2. Lao demonstrative determiners nii4 and nan4 – An intentionally discrete distinction for extensionally analogue space Nick Enfield
3. Dalabon exophoric uses of demonstratives Sarah Cutfield
4. Brazilian Portuguese – non-contrastive exophoric use of demonstratives in the spoken language Sergio Meira and Raquel Guirardello-Damian
5. 'See this sitting one' – demonstratives and deictic classifiers in Goemai Birgit Hellwig
6. Tzeltal – the demonstrative system Penelope Brown and Stephen C. Levinson
7. Yucatec demonstratives in interaction: spontaneous vs. elicited data Jürgen Bohnemeyer
8. Lavukaleve – exophoric usage of demonstratives Angela Terrill
9. Tiriyó – non-contrastive exophoric uses of demonstratives Sergio Meira
10. Trumai – non-contrastive exophoric uses of demonstratives Raquel Guirardello-Damian
11. Saliba – Exophoric demonstratives Anna Margetts
12. Warao demonstratives Stefanie Herrmann
13. Chukchi – non-contrastive spatial demonstrative usage Michael Dunn
14. Yélî Dnye – demonstratives in the language of Rossel Island, Papua New Guinea Stephen C. Levinson
15. Tidore – non-contrastive demonstratives Miriam van Staden
16. The Jahai multi-term demonstrative system – what's spatial about it? Niclas Burenhult.

Subject Areas: Psycholinguistics [CFD], Sociolinguistics [CFB], Philosophy of language [CFA]