3.7.1. Locative and demonstrative pronouns
As mentioned above, locative and demonstrative pronouns are expressed using pointing signs. In the case of locatives, when the pronoun marks a singular location, an index sign is directed to a point in space to denote the location. Plurals, in turn, are marked by reduplicating the sign, which establishes a sequence of points in space.
a) Singular locative
b) Plural locative
Importantly, the location selected by the pointing sign can be motivated or, if the real location is irrelevant, the locative can be arbitrarily established in the signing space.
school ixa home ixb child ix3 agob, stayb.
‘The child went from school to his home and stayed there.’
(based on Quer & Steinbach, 2015: 157)
In the example above, the locations assigned to school and home are not motivated by their real-world situation. Instead, they are used to establish a contrast between the two entities within the signing space.
Locative information is usually denoted by pointing at the upper part of the signing space. The upper part of the frontal plane is a marked location that conveys particular meanings such as locative information or superiority of the referent in the social hierarchy [LEXICON 3.7.2.6].
When pointing signs co-appear with lexical signs that denote places and physical locations, they are most often directed towards the upper part of the signing space, by using the frontal plane, especially when nouns refer to countries or wider areas. However, when locatives refer to cities or smaller regions, they can be located within an imaginary map on the horizontal plane. Also, when more than one locative is used, real-world locations and distances are mapped onto sign space at a reduced scale.
Furthermore, if the pointing sign does not co-appear with a noun, the location towards which it is directed is not necessarily the upper part of the signing space. In the example below, for instance, the pointing sign does not take an upward direction:
book ix3.
‘The book is there.’
(based on Barberà, 2012: 119)
Index signs can also function as demonstratives. As mentioned in the introduction, demonstratives are always spatially modified to localize the nominals that co-appear with it. They typically point at entities present in the context of conversation, but also at absent referents located in signing space.
Context: while referring to a present book.
ix3a book name title pyjama cl(v): ‘stripes’.
‘The name of this book is “The boy in the striped pyjamas”.’
(based on Barberà, 2012: 92)