In the abstract or syntactic usage of space, spatial locations typically stand for syntactic arguments [Syntax 2.2] and are used for reference tracking [Pragmatics 2]. In DGS, initial assignment of referential locations to discourse referents may follow a default pattern. This pattern can be observed in restricted contexts (i.e. beginning of the signed discourse) and is usually guided by the hand dominance of the signers. That is, both right- and left-handed signers tend to link the first-mentioned referent to the spatial area close to their dominant hand (i.e. ipsilateral side) and the second-mentioned referent to a spatial area which is close to their non-dominant hand (i.e. contralateral side). Pronominal signs are then directed to these areas to refer back to the same discourse referents. The sentences below exemplify a typical default pattern of referent assignment preferred by right-handed signers (a) and left-handed signers (b).
a. m-a-r-i-a ix[ipsi]new teacher ixl[contra] like. ix[contra]smart.
‘Maria likes the new teacher. He is smart.’
b. m-a-r-i-a ix[contra] new teacher ix[ipsi] like. ix[ipsi]smart.
‘Maria likes the new teacher. He is smart.’
(based on Steinbach & Onea, 2016: 435)
The default pattern of localization is used not only for the production of the referents but also in comprehension of pronominal ix signs to where either only one or none of the referents are localized. In the example (a), only the first referent (baker) is localized on the ipsilateral side, nevertheless the signers can easily identify an ix sign directed to the contralateral area in space as the second referent (teacher). The same is true for the example (b), where this time the second referent (teacher) is localized on the contralateral area and an ix sign directed to the ipsilateral area is interpreted as a first referent (baker). On the other hand, when neither of the referents are localized in the signing space as in (c-d) and the verb of the first sentence in the two-sentence utterance is a reciprocal verb (meet) the signers might as well to follow a default pattern of localization to identify the reference of pronominal ix. In particular, ix directed to the ipsilateral side is interpreted as the first referent (baker) and ix directed to the contralateral side as a second referent.
a. yesterday baker person[ipsi]teacher meet.ix [contra]talk want.
‘Yesterday, a baker met a teacher. He (teacher) wanted to talk.’
b. yesterday baker teacher person [contra] meet.ix[ipsi]talk want.
‘Yesterday, a baker met a teacher. He (baker) wanted to talk.’
c. yesterday baker teachermeet.ix [ipsi]talk want.
‘Yesterday, a baker met a teacher. He (baker) wanted to talk.’
d. yesterday baker teachermeet.ix [contra]talk want.
‘Yesterday, a baker met a teacher. He (teacher) wanted to talk.’