Toqabaqita boasts an array of demonstrative functions, with each category including its own formal criteria. These can be described under four basic categories: • Determiner demonstratives • Qualifying demonstratives • Locative demonstrative adverbs • Situational demonstrative adverbs A case can also be argued for a group of reiterative demonstrative pronominals, however, since there is no overlap in formal criteria with other demonstratives, these will not be discussed. Indeed, these four basic categories are loosely defined on criteria outlined by
Nikolaus P Himmelmann, however this entire article will also briefly consider demonstrative type criteria as argued by Holger Diessel, which draws on evidence from linguistic theories beyond
typology, including
child language acquisition, markedness theory, and
grammaticalisation. A full list of all demonstrative forms is available below: This section here aims to discuss how spatial
deixis is negotiated in the use of Toqabaqita demonstratives, although demonstrative forms also perform a range of other functions, including temporal deixis, forms of address, and emphasis which will not be discussed here.
Spatial distinctions Toqabaqita, like many
Austronesian languages, makes distinctions between what will be termed 'spheres', wherein referent entities in a speech act may be considered members of the speaker's sphere (speaker proximal), the addressee's sphere (addressee proximal), or as belonging to neither (distal). A further distinction can be made that refers to a speech act simply not belonging to the speaker's sphere. There is some flexibility in terms of which sphere a referent may be categorised, starting with the most apparent: • physical proximity i.e. a referent that is physically closer to the addressee may be considered part of their sphere as opposed to the speaker's • if the referent is a part of a whole, the referent will form part of the sphere to which the whole belongs e.g. a speaker's arms and legs are speaker proximal • who is involved in a state of affairs, or else who is seen as central to the state of affairs being discussed in a speech act will also determine its sphere Additionally, spatial distinctions are often combined with temporal aspects in Toqabaqita, where the time of the speech act also approximates physical proximity to a speaker. The below table summarises this: In addition to speaker relativity encoded by spheres, spatial distinctions are also made in terms of planar and elevational dimensions in Toqabaqita. Primarily, the encoding of spheres correlates to the position of referents along a medial-distal plane, which contrasts with elevational, up-down distinctions which are described using qualifying demonstratives. Exceptions to these distinctions are evident, which are later discussed, particularly in the elevational distinction. It is also worth reiterating that spatial deixis can often be semantically combined with some notion of temporal deixis, however the full extent of these functions will not be discussed due to scope.
Determiner demonstratives Determiner demonstratives are modifiers within noun phrases. The internal structure of a noun phrase including a determiner demonstrative is illustrated below: noun]determiner.demonstrative] Their formal criteria are markedly different to that of the other demonstrative types listed in this section. Most saliently is their restriction in terms of syntactic use. Determiner demonstratives are the only identified type which can only apply within a noun phrase. In contrast, other demonstratives can apply as or can modify predicates, verbal predicates, and some take on extra functionality in that they are able to modify even obliques. For Toqabaqita nouns, the default is always that the referent is definite, unless specified as indefinite. The absence of determiners in Toqabaqita may be attributed to its use of postnominal markers. However this lack of definite marking helps assist in obscuring its distinctions as a demonstrative. Example 49 shows how definite determiners are unmarked. It also includes use of an addressee proximal determiner demonstrative: Note that the demonstrative occurs prior to the object marker. Additionally, that
wela, is glossed as meaning 'the child', indicating a form of definiteness about the unmarked noun. Compare this to example 50 showing the use of the indefinite article marker, incidentally also the number one, alongside the use of a qualifying demonstrative: Note that in this example the demonstrative has fused with the postnominal marker. While the functionality of a qualifying demonstrative is broader in scope, and includes far less syntactic restriction than that of a determiner demonstrative (further discussion later), its usage in this example shows syntactic contrast with the prenominal indefinite article. For this reason, this example of a qualifying demonstrative is mentioned in this section, and shows that although the determiner demonstrative on its own can stray into conceptions of article functionality, it is, by formal criteria, a member of the demonstrative class. When comparing features cross linguistically, the issue of comparability is often that there are no one-to-one correlations between languages. Combining universal criteria from both
Himmelmann and Diessel, there are arguments for and against including what are called here "determiner demonstratives" as a type of demonstrative as opposed to a type of determiner or article. The name for this type of functionality in Toqabaqita itself hints that they possess flavours from both camps. See below for a full list of determiner demonstratives and their meanings: Note that the numbers 2, and 3 in parentheses in the table exist to differentiate the addressee and the distal, since in English, there is no comparable distinction. Determiner demonstratives can all function as exophoric markers, i.e. whose meaning refers to reference beyond the discourse, however only some may be used
endophorically, i.e. referencing either an item previously mentioned (
anaphoric) or that will be mentioned later in the discourse (
cataphoric). There is further debate in typological linguistics as to whether
endophorically referencing demonstratives are perhaps a different subgroup, in contrast to
exophoric functionality which is widely considered core to the definition of demonstratives. Since determiner demonstratives encode such a strong sense of spatial
deixis in Toqabaqita, they have been included in this section, despite the increased level of syntactical restriction in typological formal criteria pertaining to its usage.
Speaker proximal determiner demonstratives There are two phonologically varying forms of speaker proximal determiners;
naqi and
neqe; and
qeri, which more commonly encodes temporal deixis, however can include some spatial deixis. Speaker proximal determiners encompass speech acts which refer to the speaker sphere. This is most straightforward in its use to signify the referent's proximity to the speaker as in example 51: However the speaker proximal also applies to speech acts where the referent is a part of the speaker's whole e.g. if the speaker was referring to a body part in the speech act (see example 52). If the referent is the speaker's location, or an area that includes the speaker's location, the speaker proximal is also used. Note that in example 53, the less common variant,
neqe, is used, however the meaning is the same and
naqi, would be exactly interchangeable. Speaker proximal determiners can also be used when the referent involves the speaker's state of affairs, or else, that which refers to something within the speaker's vicinity (see example 54).
Addressee proximal determiner demonstratives When the addressee proximal determiner is used,
qena, the referent, or noun phrase to which
qena modifies, is within the addressee sphere. Example 55 illustrates physical proximity to the addressee: Examples 56 and 57 demonstrate the addressee proximal forms used where the referent is part of the whole: and lastly where the referent refers to the addressee's location or state of affairs: As can be seen, the nature of the addressee proximal form also means it is often used in imperative forms.
Distal determiner demonstratives These are used when the referent belongs to neither the speaker's nor the addressee's spheres, provided that the referent is not significantly displaced vertically with respect to the deictic centre. The distal determiner appears in three phonological variants,
lakoo,
lokoo, and
labaa, however to some speakers,
labaa applies to relatively great distances, as opposed to
lakoo, and
lokoo for short distances. Semantic nuance aside, the three forms are nonetheless grammatically interchangeable overall. Example 58 demonstrates the most common form,
lokoo, in use, however it would be perfectly grammatical to substitute
lokoo with either
lakoo or
labaa.
An exophoric determiner demonstrative: Signalling absence There is yet one more type of determiner demonstrative,
baa, which signals the absence of the referent from the speaker's sphere. Unlike the other determiner demonstratives,
baa, signals exophoric use which describes the absence rather than the location of a referent. Essentially, the use of
baa doesn't tell us where the referent is, rather where it is not (the speaker's sphere). It is used to refer to entities which were once in the speaker's sphere, but which are no longer, for instance, it is commonly used in questions asking for where things are (see example 59). Note that in example 59,
baa has fused with the subject marker. Although not discussed here,
baa also signals temporal deixis. In
Austronesian languages, the speaker and addressee sphere distinctions are common, and languages will usually also include one other sphere, that of the distal or the absence. What is interesting about Toqabaqita is that it includes all four.
Qualifying demonstratives There are two qualifying demonstratives, together used to signal vertical displacement from the deictic centre: While these qualifying demonstratives can also indicate temporal deixis, its discussion here will be limited to how spatial deixis is signalled. There is some overlap in terms of formal criteria with the determiner demonstratives in that the qualifying demonstratives also occur as part of the noun phrase. However, only qualifying demonstratives may take third person pronouns as the head, as in example 60: Note that, the qualifying demonstrative,
loo, has fused with the subject marker. Another formal difference which distinguishes the qualifying demonstratives from the determiner demonstratives is that the former are able to occur with indefinite, but referential noun phrases. In these cases, the qualifying demonstrative needs to specify indefiniteness, otherwise the default is definite. Recall example 50 used in earlier discussion. This demonstrates how an indefinite head can be modified by a qualifying demonstrative: This example also shows the use of a pronominal indefinite article, as well as a postnominal demonstrative. Qualifying demonstratives are also able to be used alongside a determiner demonstrative when used anaphorically, and in these cases, both modify the same head noun. The qualifying demonstrative occurs after the determiner, as in the example 61: It is clear the formal criteria used to distinguish qualifying demonstratives encompasses greater syntactic possibility, however its similarities to determiner demonstratives still attest to its typological classification as a demonstrative.
Locative demonstrative adverbs These can be divided into two types. presentative adverbs, and general locative adverbs. Together they identify the location of an entity in space, or the presence, existence of an entity at a location. Locative demonstrative adverbs make distinctions between speaker and addressee spheres as well as elevation: Note that the speaker proximal form,
neq(e), also functions as an emphatic marker, however this function will not be discussed here. Despite diverging in formal criteria to the aforementioned demonstrative types, locative adverbs remain a form of demonstrative due to their function in distinguishing spatial deixis. Furthermore, if we broaden our definition of demonstrative to beyond our conceptions of its functionality in English, we can conceive that it is possible for parts of speech other than the noun phrase, to take on demonstrative, deictic marking.
Presentative locative demonstrative adverbs These are used when the referent is visible at that location, and can be pinpointed. Example 62 shows the speaker and addressee proximal presentative adverbs used in conversation between two speakers: They are able to form part of a predicate, or as the predicate itself, the latter tending to be of emphatic use and often accompanied by relatively strong stress and higher pitch. This formal criterion demarcates it from previously discussed demonstrative typology. Example 63 illustrates how the presentative locative demonstrative adverb,
neq(e), is used to modify the predicate. in this case in the relative clause, rather than the subject noun of the whole phrase,
bauta: {{interlinear|number=63 Note that locative adverbs are not part of the noun phrase, and so they are not, for instance, followed by a postnominal marker, which has been a criterion of both determiner and qualifying demonstratives (see example 64). While determiners are confined in use as part of a noun phrase, the use of the presentative locative demonstrative adverbs is far less restricted. It can also be used with possessor phrases, where the determiner may be used alongside. The presentative adverb may also take on an oblique object, as in example 65:
General locative demonstrative adverbs These are applicable when the entity or location referent is not visible, in contrast to the presentative adverb. Likely due to this function, there are no speaker or addressee approximal forms. Example 66 shows
labaa in use: General locative adverbs also show some flexibility in which clausal phrases they are able to modify, for instance they are able to capture prepositional phrases as seen in example 67: There are other less common applications for general locative adverbs, however which are not included here due to scope restraints.
Situational demonstrative adverbs These encode spatial/temporal deixis with an emphatic-identifying function, of which there are three members. They are listed below alongside their spatial meanings: •
neri (speaker proximal) •
nena (non speaker proximal) •
nabaa (past temporal significance, sphere is irrelevant) These are clause level constituents and occur clause finally. While their use does include functions beyond spatial deixis, discussion here will be limited due to scope. For the same reasons,
nabaa, although listed to provide an accurate summary, is not further discussed here. Example 68 shows the use of both
neri and
nena: In this case, the speaker changes from
neri to
nena which is also an imperative (see example 69). Stylistic choices are also possible in that it is grammatical to choose a situational adverb depending on how the speaker wishes to contextualise the speech act. For instance,
neri, the speaker proximal, can be used to describe an addressee's situation if that same referent also impacts the speaker. This could be due to physical proximity, however could be more abstract, as in example 70 which involves a mother reprimanding her children in response to an earlier event which could have impacted all of the, including the mother herself, and thus invoking the speaker proximal: == Conventions and Abbreviations ==