Deixis: deixis
| Values: | ProxS | ProxH | Med | Remt |
Deixis is a feature of Adverbs, Determiners and Pronouns. Its reference frame is basically spatial, but it is extended metaphorically to temporal and textual references.
ProxS: Speaker-proximal deictic
The Speaker-proximal deictic points to a referent within the sphere of the speaker. Its lemma is nân.
Examples
- tundà bâːki sôn wânga mijìː, […] sai kì hwàɗi wandà kikà sôː // “since you don’t love this husband, […] tell us the one you love. (Western Hausa)
ProxH: Hearer-proximal deictic
The Speaker-proximal deictic points to a referent within the sphere of the hearer. Its lemma is nan.
Examples
- zaː’à bugà littaːfìn nan na Salman Rushdie à ƙasar̃ Jàpân // “that book by Salman Rushdie will be printed in Japan” (Eastern Hausa)
Med: Medial deictic
The medial deictic points to a referent within the sight of the speakers, but outside their sphere. Its lemma is cân.
Examples
So, you were not walking on your own, that one on his own, and that one on his own.
- kuma bâː tàhiyàkkà daban, ta wàncân daban, ta wàncân daban// “you were not walking on your own, that one on his own, that one on his own.” (Northern Hausa))
Remt: Remote deictic
The remote deictic points to a referent outside the sight of the speakers. Its lemma is can.
Examples
- zâːta tàhiyàː wurim bìki, can gidan dangìntà // “she was going to a party, over there, at her relative’s house. (Western Hausa)
Reference: Jaggar, Philip J. & Malami Buba. 1996. The Space and Time Adverbials nan/can in Hausa: Cracking the Deictic Code. In Petr Zima (ed.), Proceedings of the Workshop on Space in Languages, Prague 1995, 82–124.
Deixis in other languages: [aqz] [axm] [bej] [ha] [hy] [mpu] [naq] [qpm] [u] [xcl]