Expressing Deixis in Guinean Pular

Abstract

The paper presents a study of the main means of expressing deixis in Pular, a language of Guinea (< fula < Atlantic < Niger-Congo). All deixis types are consequently reviewed. Firstly, temporal deixis, which uses mainly lexical devices, apart from one retrospective affix. Secondly, spatial deixis, which is coded by a proximal / medial / distal set of adverbs and the same retrospective affix. Thirdly, the personal deixis system is marked by inclusive and exclusive plural pronouns in the paradigm. Also, the signature characteristics of discourse deixis in Pular are listed. Lastly, the domain of social deixis is reviewed, including lexical means, such as a choice of nouns and predicates in reference and vocation, and grammatical means, including a choice of noun class in pronouns. The system of demonstratives is presented separately as it is marginal for several types of deixis, and the system of definitive is also looked at as it is a marginal part of the demonstrative system. Both systems each have one physical embodiment, but if we accept the lack of this embodiment as a zero marker and the existence of a third, lexical grade of the system, then it becomes picturesquely concordant with a proximal / medial / distal spatial system, and the concordance of demonstrative and spatial domains is considered common in many languages.