Definition of deixis in English:
deixis
noun ˈdeɪksɪsˈdʌɪksɪsˈdaɪksəs
mass nounLinguistics The function or use of deictic words, forms, or expressions.
we construct a context from the deixis of the text
Example sentencesExamples
- The phenomenon of deixis has been taken to be the clearest single example of language's embeddedness in context.
- In concert with contemporary theory, she posits a world of belated, thwarted deixis, of quasi-chimerical example.
- This study of the role of deixis and information packaging in discourse is based on an analysis of several corpora of Russian spoken and written texts.
- It is critical to an understanding of deixis to recall that even very ‘local’ elements of context, such as a speaker's own corporeal experience and perceptual field, are susceptible of schematisation.
- There is another linguistic category related to the notion of deixis: namely, aspect.
Origin
1940s: from Greek, literally 'reference', from deiknunai 'to show'.