HOMEWORK

6. Analyse the value and reference of personal, possessive and emphatic pronounsor of
their corresponding determinative adjectives (“adjective pronominale”):
Model: Jane, you always exaggerate. Your opinion is biased.
Jane is an addressing term and coreferential with the pronoun you. Thus, you is an anaphora, but
it is also deictic in nature since it makes reference to the interlocutor in the situation of
communication. Your is a possessive adjective coreferential with the antecedents you and Jane.
It has also deictic value.

Whenever they are home, the Robinsons receive guests and welcome them
themselves.
The personal pronoun they has cataphoric value. It anticipates the referent expressed by the noun
Robinsons. The terms are coreferential. Them has anaphoric value, refering to the noun guests.
Themselves is a reflexive pronoun coreferential with the antecedents.

It is in your hands, your chance.

The personal pronoun it has cataphoric value.
It anticipates the referent expressed by the noun chance.
The terms are coreferential.
Your is a possessive adjective that has deictic value.

'I, Harry, take you, Jane, to be my lawful wedded wife...’

The personal pronoun I has cataphoric value. It anticipates the referent expressed by the noun
Harry. It also has deictic value.
The personal pronoun you has cataphoric value. It anticipates the referent expressed by the noun
Jane. It also has deictic value.

'Shall we give up spending on new shoes, my dear?’

The personal pronouns we and my have deictic value.
The noun dear is a term of endearment, a social type of deixis.

'I’m never wrong.’ '«I’m never wrong», says he”.

The personal pronoun I has deictic value.
The personal pronoun I from the replay is an anaphora. It does not have deictic value.
The personal pronoun I is coreferential with the personal pronoun he.

'Aren’t we conceived if we imagine we are always right?'

The personal pronoun we has generic value.

'Are we recovered?’ 'I don’t know about you, but I am.’

The personal pronouns we, I and you have deictic value.
The personal pronouns you and I are anaphoric, reffering to the pronoun mentioned in the first
statement we.
 It’s not a HE-says-SHE-says discussion.
The personal pronouns he and she have generic value, refering in general to a woman and a man
having an argument.

7. Rephrase using generic value pronouns:

It is believed that this is just the beginning. -They believe it is jjust the beginning.
There is a strong conviction that things can be reversed. -They have a strong conviction that
things can be reversed.
Rumour has it that more people invested in the business. –They say more people invested in
the business.

14.Analyse the values of the deictics.

Model: Call us again this month.
us – deictic pronoun referring to the speaker and other referents not present in the situation of
communication; inclusive we.
this month – relative time marker, nominal phrase, deictic value (proximity to the moment of
speaking –present).

There were many advices at the door: all these.

There- adverb of space, deictic value value (proximity to the referent-speaker).
at the door-space marker, absolute location expressed by the NP at the door.

The bus stop is a few minutes’ walk from here.

a few minutes’ walk from here- lexical deictic marker of time (proximity to the moment of
speaking –present).

This strange youngman came this afternoon looking for a friend of his.
strange youngman- social deictic value showing mutual relation and a low level of knowledge of
the referent.
this afternoon- lexical deictic marker of time (proximity to the moment of speaking –present).
Friend- social deictic value showing mutual relation and a high level of knowledge of the
referent.

Oh, this perfume!

This-demonstrative pronoun, empathetic deictic, , showing a positive attitude, an attitude of
admiration. It has positive connotation.

Go on and finish up your work, otherwise you will hold us back.

The personal pronouns you and us have person deictic value.
 16. a. Consider the text below. Identify social deixis markers, characterize them and
then mention if they are still in use. Provide examples of such uses in contemporary English.
b. Identify the discourse deictics in the fragment below and analyse them.

Tranio: Master, you looked so longly on the maid (W. Shakespeare, Taming of the Shrew, I,1)
Tranio: Softly, my masters. If you be gentlemen,
Do me this right, hear me with patience. (ibidem)
Bianca: Good sister, wrong me not, nor wrong yourself […]
If you affect him, sister, here I swear
I’ll plead for you myself but you shall have him (ibidem, I, 2)
Petruccio: Father, and wife, and gentlemen, adieu (ibidem, II, 1)
Messenger: Mistress, your father prays you leave your books (ibidem, III, 2)
Baptista: Go, girl, I cannot blame thee now to weep (ibidem)
Petruccio: You logger-headed and unpolished grooms, […]
You peasant swain, you whoreson, malthorse drudge, […]
Go, rascals, go and fetch my supper in. (ibidem, IV, 1)
Lucentio: Now, mistress, profit you in what you read?
Bianca: What, master, read you? First resolve me that [...]
And may you prove, sir, master of your art.
Lucentio: While you, sweet dear, prove mistress of my art (ibidem)
Hortensio: Come, Mistress kate, I’ll bear you company. (ibidem, IV, 3)
Katherine: You budding virgin, fair, and fresh, and sweet (ibidem, IV, 4)
Pardon, old father, […] (ibidem)
Vincentio: What, you notorious villain, didst thou never
See thy master’s father, Vincentio? (ibidem, V,1)
Katherine: Come, come, you froward and unable worms, […] (ibidem, V,2)

Master-the social deictic marker show the individual characteristics of the interlocutor, in
point of social status, making the speaker to adopt an attitude of respect adresing with the
honorific Master. The term is not in use in present.
Sister- the social deictic marker show a mutual relation of familiarity, being a kinship
term. It is still in use.
Father - the social deictic marker show a mutual relation of familiarity, being a kinship
term. It is still in use.
Wife- the social deictic marker show a mutual relation of familiarity, being a kinship
term. It is still in use.
Girl- the social deictic marker show an individual characteristic in point of sex. It points
out a young woman referent.