4.1.2.1. The position of the demonstrative
Demonstratives in LIS usually appear in postnominal position. In the example below, the deictic demonstrative ix(dem) follows the noun phone.
phone ix(dem) world modify
‘That mobile phone has changed the world.’
A less common option is the reduplication of the demonstrative. In this case, as exemplified below, one demonstrative is produced at the beginning of the noun phrase and the other at the end of it.
ix(dem)a book new two ix(dem)a poss1
‘These two new books are mine.’ (Bertone, 2007: 85)
A similar construction is the demonstrative reinforcer construction (SYNTAX 4.1.2.2).
Another possibility is to articulate noun and demonstrative simultaneously: the former with the dominant hand and the latter with the non-dominant hand.
dom: man go_away
n-dom: ix(dem)
‘That man is leaving.’
