Talk:Demonstrative

Kaplan?
David Kaplan's essay "Demonstratives" has been cited more than 1,700 times (see google scholar); it is a staple in the philosophy of language. This probably ought to be reflected in the article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.106.230.219 (talk) 00:05, 22 August 2011 (UTC)

Europe 2-way distinction
Most European languages only make a two-way distinction between demonstratives, ...

Well at least Spanish makes a three-way distinction, and I have a feeling Catalan and Portuguese may do as well.

Spanish: Adjectives: this: este esta estos estas that: ese esa esos esas that over there: aquel aquella aquellos aquellas

Pronouns: this one: éste ésta éstos éstas that one: ése ésa ésos ésas that one over there: aquél aquélla aquéllos aquéllas &mdash; Hippietrail 14:05, 14 Feb 2005 (UTC)

more than 3-way distiction
Are there any languages that make a more than 3-way distinction? If so, what is the maximum amount of distinctions found so far? --JorisvS 11:47, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

I seem to recall seeing that some Inuit languages have up to 20-way distinctions. I'll try to find a reference. --Makerowner 14:51, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

According to QI (not the most reliable source, I know), some Inuit languages have 32 demonstrative pronouns. 78.16.184.191 (talk) 17:03, 30 October 2009 (UTC)

English grammar
I got rid of the template because this article is not just English and therefore it should not be on here.

Yonder
Who decided that yon/yonder are no longer valid English? I was under the impression that yonder was a demonstrative as well. "That one over there, far away, but still in view" is what yonder means. So, wouldn't it be a third demonstrative to go with this and that? Just asking. Peter1968 (talk) 14:28, 9 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Fersher. I don't see why not, and I've altered the article to reflect that. It's definitely out of style in most parts, but it's in the Oxford Dictionary under "archaic or dialect", and not under "Middle English." Otherwise I suppose it would be in some etymological subsection, and not given a proper entry. In any case, native English speakers will all understand it, and even use it occasionally (though perhaps with some sarcasm). --Heyitspeter (talk) 07:19, 23 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Yonder's use as a distal demonstrative is definitely preserved in Southern American English, as the article there asserts. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.223.116.200 (talk) 18:26, 16 September 2010 (UTC)

So the Oxford Dictionary has yon/yonder under "archaic or dialect". So what? That doesn't mean they have died out in British English - unless you say that all dialect has died out. The people living in London and the South East might never use them, but many dialects in the North of England do - both yon and yonder - in their traditional sense. I used them myself as a lad, and although I generally no longer do (I moved South), I still hear them used when I go back North.

Unfinished?
What does "In the scandinavic Languages are only one pronoun" mean? __meco (talk) 10:30, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Lamb of God
"This is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world." I don't think the word that in the sentence is a demonstrative. A demonstrative would be "that Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world". Disagreements? DJ Clayworth (talk) 20:12, 6 July 2009 (UTC)

Babble?
Pardon me, but this passage has got little to do with pronouns: (qv.) "Use of a demonstrative ("spacial adjective") to describe a child, instead of a name, suggests distancing, thus indicating the speaker may be lying."

"The speaker may be lying"? This sounds an awful lot like psycho-babble to me. It is perfectly possible to lie using other pronouns, and also tell the truth using a demonstrative.

--Sparviere (talk) 00:24, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

Offensive examples
Do the examples in the upper right text box really represent the best possible examples? Would someone propose better content?PalMD (talk) 04:32, 9 January 2010 (UTC)

I dont believe it would. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.110.147.184 (talk) 19:14, 22 October 2010 (UTC) shit men this gonna be bad

Tenses with "dead" languages
Not sure what the convention is regarding languages like Latin, but in the sentence "Latin had several sets of demonstratives, including hic, haec, hoc; ille, illa, illud; and iste, ista, istud (note that Latin has not only number, but also three grammatical genders)." there is a muddle. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Grcaldwell (talk • contribs) 09:57, 6 August 2010 (UTC)

Medial in Japanese?
The article claims, without citing a source, that Japanese has a proximal/medial/distal trichotomy. I'd like to see an authoritative source for this claim. I've no doubt that ko/so/a has been so represented in texts of Japanese as a foreign language or in grammar books put out by hacks, but I have trouble believing that it has been stated in a well-informed analysis of the language. -- Hoary (talk) 22:54, 14 April 2011 (UTC)

demonstrative
'demonstratives are deictic' is like saying 'transfers are metaphoric'. (Pamour (talk) 09:47, 6 September 2012 (UTC))

Medial in Bengali?
In this article, it is written that Bengali has a proximal/medial/distal. As a Bengali, I disagree that as there is no medial thing. Nayeem the D-kgo (talk) 12:52, 26 June 2023 (UTC)