VARIABILITY IN THE USAGE OF DEMONSTRATIVES IN SHUGHNI

Abstract

This article provides an overview of the main features of the Shughni system of demonstratives and their deictic functions. The study is based on the fieldwork data, namely an experiment during which the informants responded with Shughni demonstratives. The data obtained are presented in the form of tables with subsequent discussion. The study uses diverse theoretic approaches: on the one hand, a bicentric approach to deixis, examining it through the relations of the participants in a speech act, on the other hand, the idea of the opposition between person- and distance-oriented systems following the mainstream thinking about deixis as remoteness from deictic center, that is, the speaker. In this vein, this article seeks to combine the achievements of both. As a result, an updated understanding of the variability of Shughni demonstratives is provided.