Bounded Deixis

Overview

Bounded deixis describes deictic expressions (like ‘this’, ‘that’, ‘here’, ‘now’) whose reference is determined by a bounded context, such as a specific text, document, or discourse segment, rather than the immediate physical or temporal circumstances of utterance.

Key Concepts

• Deixis: Expressions whose meaning depends on the context of utterance.
• Bounded Context: A defined segment of text or discourse, limiting the scope of deictic reference.
• Contrast with Unbounded Deixis: Unbounded deixis refers to the immediate speech situation (e.g., pointing to an object while speaking).

Deep Dive

In bounded deixis, the ‘here’ might refer to a specific chapter in a book, and ‘this’ might refer to a particular sentence or paragraph previously mentioned. The anchoring is internal to the discourse structure itself, making the reference stable within that defined frame.

Applications

This concept is crucial in text analysis, discourse studies, and computational linguistics for understanding how cohesion and coherence are maintained across textual segments. It helps track references and relationships within documents.

Challenges & Misconceptions

A common misconception is that all deixis is tied to the physical speech act. Bounded deixis highlights that the ‘situational context’ can be a textual situation. Distinguishing it from anaphora (which refers back to a linguistic antecedent) can also be challenging.

FAQs

Q: How is bounded deixis different from anaphora?

A: While both refer to something previously mentioned, deixis inherently points to a ‘location’ or ‘time’ within a context, whereas anaphora is purely referential to a linguistic expression.

Q: Can ‘now’ be used in bounded deixis?

A: Yes, ‘now’ can refer to the present moment within the bounded textual context, like ‘the situation now described in this paragraph’.