Re: deixis

On Sun, 11 Apr 1999, Fabian wrote:

> Are there any natlangs that have more than 3 levels of deixis
> (this/that/yon)?
>=20
So, Easter has arrived, and I've got a bit of time for the list=20
again :-).

To start with a conlang, to keep on topic:

Denden has four levels:

near the speaker=09=09=09de, ta, ya, ne
near the hearer=09=09=09=09yo, yobi
distant from both speaker and hearer=09bue, pahe
somewhere =09=09=09=09yob

The variation in form can be accounted for by dialectical=20
differences. (And my boneheadedness in analysis, about
ten years ago. The new analysis I'm preparing is a lot
more thorough.)

The Kiranti languages of eastern Nepal all have an extra
dimension: up and down the mountain, alongside with=20
a proximal and distal distinction. Toba (1984:13) mentions
a far-distal, although Ebert (1994: 90) dismisses this.

Dumi (van Driem 1993: 82-83) for instance has:

tomi=09=09proximal
mom=09=09distal
yakka.m=09=09yonder
thukko.m=09up above
yukko.m=09=09down below

Nepali is a lot like Denden in some respects:

here=09=09=09yaha
at a definitive place=09tyaha
there=09=09=09uha=09=09
somewhere=09=09jah=E3

References

Driem, George van. 1993. A Grammar of Dumi, Berlin.

Ebert, Karen. 1994. The Structure of Kiranti Languages,=20
   Comparative Grammar and Texts. Z=FCrich.

Toba, Sueyoshi. 1984. Khaling. Tokyo.