Interactional Functions of English Demonstratives in Personal Reference

Interactional Functions of English Demonstratives in Personal Reference

  This paper considers the ways in which English demonstratives are employed for third person reference in conversations. In particular, the use of demonstratives was examined in relation to the sequential position in which they occur (i.e., “locally initial” vs. “locally subsequent” position, Schegloff, 1996). The results of the study reveal some useful functions that the use of demonstratives may serve in personal reference in English. Used in locally initial reference position, this and that signal to the recipients the non-recognizability and recognizability of the referent, respectively. Additionally, this may signal the relative importance of the referent being introduced and differentiate the speaker’s referent from the interlocutor’s. Both demonstratives, though less typically, do occur in locally subsequent reference positions as well, replacing the default type of reference term in that position (i.e., pronouns). The use of demonstrative-NPs in locally subsequent position often displays the speaker’s stance with respect to the referent.