Shifting Deictic Centers in the Hualapai Demonstrative System

Abstract

The Hualapai demonstrative system is an interesting example of the way speakers of different languages use language to orient themselves in space. Various analyses of this complex six-morpheme system have been suggested. This paper proposes a division of the system into a set of proximals and a set of distals. The other distinctions may be due to a deictic center which shifts from the speaker to other reference points. In addition, some evidence is offered to indicate that there is a medial in the system which is changing to a hearer-centered distal.