Course Description
Summary
How do we, as users of language, guide others to successfully follow our attention and intention in referring to elements of shared physical, social and discursive worlds? How do we, as consumers of language, integrate linguistic signals with available context to successfully interpret these acts of reference? In this class, we will draw on data from a wide range of languages to understand the linguistic concepts of indexicality, deixis and anaphora, which describe the human ability to anchor, orient and follow language in space, time and interaction. Building from the functions of “pointing” words like English THIS and THAT, we will extend our exploration to include concepts such as HERE and NOW, YOU and I, and how we use language to meaningfully refer back upon itself. Through these investigations, we will work to gain an appreciation of the robust and flexible strategies deployed in the construction of the linguistic “self” and its mediation to other “selves” with whom we communicate.
