Philosophy Pragmatics Questions
Deixis in pragmatics refers to the phenomenon where the meaning of certain words or phrases is dependent on the context in which they are used. It involves the use of words that rely on the speaker's or listener's spatial, temporal, and social context for their interpretation. Deictic expressions, such as pronouns (e.g., "I," "you," "this," "that") and adverbs (e.g., "here," "there," "now," "then"), are inherently ambiguous and require contextual information to be understood correctly. Deixis plays a crucial role in communication as it allows speakers to refer to specific entities, times, and places without explicitly stating them, relying on shared knowledge and situational cues.