Demonstratives in Spatial Language and Social Interaction: An Interdisciplinary Review

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Holger Diessel¹  Kenny R. Coventry² 

[1] Department of English, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena;School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, United Kingdom

关键词: demonstrative;    deixis;    joint attention;    peripersonal action space;    language acquisition;    language universals;    spatial cognition;    embodied cognition;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2020.555265

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

This paper offers a review of research on demonstratives from an interdisciplinary perspective. In particular, we consider the role of demonstratives in current research on language universals, language evolution, language acquisition, multimodal communication, signed language, language and perception, language in interaction, spatial imagery, and discourse processing. Traditionally, demonstratives are analyzed as a particular class of spatial deictics. Yet, a number of recent studies have argued that space is largely irrelevant to deixis and that demonstratives are primarily used for social and interactive purposes. Synthesizing findings in the literature, we conclude that demonstratives are a very special class of linguistic items that are foundational to both spatial and social aspects of language and cognition.

【 授权许可】

CC BY