Estonian demonstratives in exophoric use: an experimental approach
Date
2019-05-15
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Abstract
Demonstratiivid – sõnad nagu see ja too ning siin ja seal – saavad oma tähenduse kontekstis. Maailma keeltes on ruumilises kontekstis ehk ruumis viitamisel peamiseks demonstratiivide valikut mõjutavaks teguriks peetud referendi kaugust kõnelejast. Eesti keele demonstratiivide kasutust on ruumilises kontekstis aga vähe käsitletud. Siinse doktoritöö eesmärgiks on uurida, kas eesti keeles mõjutavad demonstratiivide valikut peale kauguse ka teised tegurid. Lisaks vaadeldakse, kuidas nende tegurite mõju erineb eesti, vene ja soome keele demonstratiivide kasutusest ning kuidas on demonstratiivid seotud teiste viitevahendite (nt noomenifraaside ja personaalpronoomenite) kasutusega. Tööst selgub, et eesti keele demonstratiivide valikut mõjutavad referendi kaugus kõnelejast, referendi eristatavus ja kontrastiivne olukord. Mida kaugemal on referent, seda rohkem kasutatakse demonstratiive too ja seal, mida lähemal on referent, seda rohkem demonstratiive see ja siin. Referendi eristatavuse mõju ei avaldu mitte selles, kas kõneleja valib raskesti eristatavale referendile viidates demonstratiivi see või too, vaid selles, kuidas kasutatakse demonstratiivi seal. Kui referenti on keeruline märgata, alustatakse lauset demonstratiiviga seal, millele lisatakse seejärel täpsem referendi kirjeldus, nt sealt kolmesest rühmast kõige parempoolne klots. Kontrasti mõju ilmnemiseks peavad omavahel võrreldavad referendid aga asuma nii kõneleja kui üksteise suhtes kaugel. Kauguse ja kontrasti mõju osas sarnaneb eesti keel vene ja soome keelega, kuid kõik need keeled erinevad üksteisest teiste viitevahendite kasutamise poolest. Soome keeles eelistatakse demonstratiive, vene keeles noomenifraase ja personaalpronoomeneid. Eesti keel jääb viitevahendite kasutuse poolest nende kahe keele vahele. Doktoritööst järeldub, et eesti keeles mõjutab demonstratiivide valikut eelkõige kaugus. Teiste viitavahendite kasutust mõjutab aga demonstratiivide arv keeles. Mida rohkem on keeles demonstratiive, seda rohkem funktsioone nad täidavad ning seda vähem läheb vaja teisi viitevahendeid.
Demonstratives, words like this and there, get their meaning from context. In spatial reference, i.e., indicating referents in physical space, the distance of the referent from the speaker has been considered the main factor that influences the choice of demonstratives in the world’s languages. In Estonian, however, the use of demonstratives in spatial context has had little research attention. The aim of this thesis is to study the factors that influence the choice of Estonian demonstratives in spatial reference and to explore how these factors differ in the use of Estonian, Russian and Finnish demonstratives. In addition, the study investigates how the use of demonstratives is linked to the use of other referential devices (e.g., bare NPs and personal pronouns). The findings suggest that the choice of Estonian demonstratives is influenced by the distance of the referent, the visual salience of the referent and the need for contrast. The farther the referent is, the more demonstratives too and seal are used, the closer the referent is, the more demonstratives, see and siin are used. The impact of visual salience is manifested in the use of the demonstrative adverb seal, i.e., when a distant referent is hard to detect for the addressee, the speaker starts the utterance with seal after which s/he adds a more detailed description of the referent. For the effects of contrast to occur, the referents have to be far from the speaker and from each other. In terms of distance and contrast effects, the results of Estonian, Russian and Finnish are similar, however these languages differ in their use of other referential devices. In Finnish, demonstratives are preferred, whereas Russian speakers tend to use personal pronouns and bare NPs. Estonian lies between these two languages in terms of its use of other referential devices. To conclude, from the tested factors distance has the strongest effect on the choice of Estonian demonstratives. The use of other referential devices is influenced by the number of demonstrative pronouns that a language has and the functions that these demonstratives fulfil.
Demonstratives, words like this and there, get their meaning from context. In spatial reference, i.e., indicating referents in physical space, the distance of the referent from the speaker has been considered the main factor that influences the choice of demonstratives in the world’s languages. In Estonian, however, the use of demonstratives in spatial context has had little research attention. The aim of this thesis is to study the factors that influence the choice of Estonian demonstratives in spatial reference and to explore how these factors differ in the use of Estonian, Russian and Finnish demonstratives. In addition, the study investigates how the use of demonstratives is linked to the use of other referential devices (e.g., bare NPs and personal pronouns). The findings suggest that the choice of Estonian demonstratives is influenced by the distance of the referent, the visual salience of the referent and the need for contrast. The farther the referent is, the more demonstratives too and seal are used, the closer the referent is, the more demonstratives, see and siin are used. The impact of visual salience is manifested in the use of the demonstrative adverb seal, i.e., when a distant referent is hard to detect for the addressee, the speaker starts the utterance with seal after which s/he adds a more detailed description of the referent. For the effects of contrast to occur, the referents have to be far from the speaker and from each other. In terms of distance and contrast effects, the results of Estonian, Russian and Finnish are similar, however these languages differ in their use of other referential devices. In Finnish, demonstratives are preferred, whereas Russian speakers tend to use personal pronouns and bare NPs. Estonian lies between these two languages in terms of its use of other referential devices. To conclude, from the tested factors distance has the strongest effect on the choice of Estonian demonstratives. The use of other referential devices is influenced by the number of demonstrative pronouns that a language has and the functions that these demonstratives fulfil.
Description
Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsioone
Keywords
asesõnad, määrsõnad, süntaks