J. Bohnemeyer Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics

2. Deictic expression vs. deictic use
The class of linguistic expressions that can be 
used
deictically is much larger than
the class of linguistic signs with an inherently deictic meaning. Relational
expressions seem to have a particular propensity of being used deictically or
anaphorically. Relational terms in the domain of spatial orientation are often used
deictically, even when their 
>
arguments
=
are expressed non-deictically, because
they imply a particular observer perspective. Thus, 
The rock is left of the tree
means that the rock is to the left of the tree as projected from an observer, as the
tree has no inherent left, and 
The rock is in front of the tree
means it is between the
observer and the tree, as the tree has no inherent front; the perspective will usually
be understood as that of the speaker, the addressee, or both. However, the same
terms refer non-deictically when used with respect to people (which do have an
inherent left side) or e.g. buildings (which do have an inherent front), respectively
(Fillmore 1997).
3. Deixis and indexicality
Definite descriptions are indexical. Thus, 
the chair
refers to a chair that the speaker
assumes to be uniquely identifiable to the addressee, e.g. 
>
the aforementioned
chair
=
. Therefore, definite descriptions can be used deictically, provided the

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uniqueness condition is fulfilled in the context: 
Move the chair over!
will be
felicitous in a situation in which there is only one free chair in the room and the
addressee is aware of that. Anaphoric expressions generally admit deictic use, while
anaphoric use of inherently deictic terms is usually more restricted. True time-deictic
expressions apparently cannot be used anaphorically at all, and neither can
genuine first or second person pronouns. The English demonstratives 
this 
and 
that
can both be used anaphorically, though under slightly different conditions (see
Fillmore 1997), and so can the proximal and distal place adverbs 
here 
and 
there
. In
contrast, in Yukatek Maya, only the distal demonstrative forms and adverbs can be
used anaphorically (Hanks 1990). The combined impact of the rather weak deictic
anchoring of demonstratives in some languages and the pervasiveness of their non-
spatial uses has led some researchers to propose non-spatial analyses of the
underlying meanings. Similarly, Wilkins & Hill (1995) show that 
g o
and its
equivalents in other languages only acquire a deictic reading pragmatically,
through the contrast with a truly deictic 
come
.