1.1. Deixis
Deictic expressions have an interpretation related to the location and identification of persons, objects, events, processes and activities being talked about, or referred to, in relation to the spatiotemporal context involved in an act of utterance and with the participation of one sender and at least one addressee. In LSC, deictic referring expressions generally consist of an index handshape directed to a present object or person, to the body of the signer or to some location in the signing space, which is associated to a discourse referent. This pointing may be used for many different functions, as described below. The hand configuration may show some variation. One reason for variation is the assimilation process where the handshape of the pointing sign takes over the handshape of neighboring signs. Deixis is thus understood in relation with the canonical situation of utterance in which the communication occurs in face-to-face interaction. Because of their inherent use in face-to-face interaction, LSC makes a great use of deictic elements. In this section the signs directed to a spatial location, regardless of its handshape, are considered.