Chapter 50Demonstratives and Reference
Saru demonstrative modifiers, spatial and discourse reference, formal-noun combinations, and regional differences.
50.1 Demonstrative modifiers
Demonstrative adnominals identify a referent by its location in the speech situation or its place in the discourse. Their main role is to modify a following noun. Nakagawa distinguishes these modifiers from predicates, while also recognizing constructions where some directly precede a case particle Nakagawa (2024: 283, 287–289).
His Saru table gives the following distinctions. Empty plural cells indicate that no paired form is supplied in that row Nakagawa (2024: 283, table 72).
| Form | Plural partner | Reference in the Saru account |
|---|---|---|
| tan | — | Something at hand |
| taan | taoka(y) | Near the speaker or hearer |
| toan | tooka(y) | Away from both speaker and hearer |
| toon | — | Farther away than toan |
| ne | — | Mentioned immediately before |
| nea | nerok | Mentioned earlier in the discourse |
| newaan | newaoka(y) | Mentioned earlier in the discourse |
The table gives the same broad discourse meaning for nea and newaan.
50.2 Situational and discourse reference
Nakagawa separates situational tan, taan, toan, and toon from discourse-oriented ne, nea, and newaan. He illustrates tan with a recording machine before the speakers and nea with a spear already mentioned in a story Nakagawa (2024: 284).
Refsing's Shizunai description allows the spatial demonstratives based on ta and to to have anaphoric uses as well Refsing (1986: §12.3.3) ‹contested›. Her account therefore qualifies any attempt to apply the Saru situational/discourse division uniformly across Hokkaido.
Refsing calls demonstratives definite. Their use helps the hearer identify a referent through the situation or prior discourse Refsing (1986: §12.3.3). Nakagawa's examples likewise show the role of earlier mention Nakagawa (2024: 284, 287–288). These descriptions concern demonstrative reference and its constructions.
50.3 Combinations with nominal heads
Demonstratives combine with ordinary nouns and with formal nouns such as p/pe, hi, hike, kur, and uske. Combinations with weakly independent p and hi are often treated as single demonstrative pronouns Nakagawa (2024: 287). See Chapter 35 (Formal Nouns and Nominalizing Constructions) for the status of these heads.
A form containing pe can also refer to a person. Nakagawa quotes Tamura's example addressing dancers about a young man who has joined them:
‘Hold on firmly to that one.’
Nakagawa 2024: 287, example 390; Saru
Tamura 1985: 72, reported through Nakagawa. ‘That one’ refers to the young man; source toanpe is segmented here.
50.4 Lexical differences among combinations
The combinations are not interchangeable paradigm cells. Nakagawa describes nep primarily as indefinite, while neap can refer to an earlier-mentioned entity. He reports newaanpe as the more frequent choice for this discourse reference Nakagawa (2024: 287–288). The relation to questions is discussed in Chapter 51 (Interrogative and Indefinite Expressions).
There are examples of nea hi. Nakagawa analyzes tani as a contraction of tan plus hi, but finds it restricted to formulas such as toni un tani un “there and here” Nakagawa (2024: 288). A historical relationship does not make every possible uncontracted combination an ordinary expression.
50.5 Regional and register differences
The distal forms vary geographically. Nakagawa reports both toan and toon in Saru and Chitose, with the latter less frequent in the Saru dictionary. He reports no toon examples for the Ishikari basin in the dialect dictionary, while Obihiro appears not to use toan Nakagawa (2024: 284–285). These are source-specific distribution reports.
Discourse-oriented ikia and plural ikirok occur from Shizunai eastward, with some Saru examples too. Nea is widespread, while nean is prominent in Tokachi and Kushiro and also occurs alongside nea elsewhere. Nakagawa leaves their distinction unresolved Nakagawa (2024: 285). Refsing's derogatory reading of ikiap belongs to her Shizunai folktale material Refsing (1986: 94, §12.3.1).
Nakagawa also records verse-oriented tanan and the emphatic tapan / tapoka(y), reporting the latter characterization from Tamura's Saru dictionary Nakagawa (2024: 284). Register and lexical restrictions remain part of the description of these less common forms.
50.6 Place expressions and formation accounts
Expressions such as taan ta “here” and toon un “toward there” have a case particle directly after the demonstrative. Nakagawa proposes a historical reduction through hi, schematically taan hi ta → taani ta → taan ta Nakagawa (2024: 288) ‹speculative›.
Locative te also combines with place particles, but lacks the noun-modifying use: Nakagawa rejects *te menoko for “this woman.” He consequently classifies it as a locative noun Nakagawa (2024: 289). See Chapter 52 (Relational Nouns, Spatial Forms, and Quasi-Incorporation).
Kindaichi and Chiri's earlier account derives demonstrative forms through existential an and okay, within its own system of roots and accent distinctions Kindaichi & Chiri (1936: 57–58, §§85–86) ‹speculative›. Refsing organizes her Shizunai forms into a grid of demonstratives, place expressions, and interrogatives Refsing (1986: 108–110, §12.3.6). These analyses describe related patterns at different levels of detail and with different dialect bases.