Deictic Features of Demonstratives in Ethiosemitic Languages

Abstract

This paper examines the deictic features of demonstratives in Ethiosemitic
languages from a cross-linguistic typological perspective. In most cases,
demonstratives in Ethiosemitic languages deictically blend two systems: distanceoriented
and person-oriented. As a result, among the studied languages, Amharic
and Harari are the three deictic terms that blend the two systems, namely proximal
(near to the speaker), distal (far away from both the speaker and the hearer), and
the near addressee that refers to a location of the referent farther away from the
speaker, and it also indicates that the referent is close to the hearer. However,
"Ezha" is four deictic terms, namely proximal (near to the speaker), medial (an
entity a bit far from the speaker but still in the vicinity of the speaker), distal (far
away from both the speaker and the hearer), and near addressee (it refers to a
location farther away from the speaker, and it also indicates that the referent is
close to the hearer). Only Tigrinya has the two deictic terms (speaker-proximal and
speaker-distal). Demonstratives in the Ethiosemitic languages can be combined
with prepositions to refer to the topography, direction, and position of the referent.