A Theory of Indexical Shift: Meaning, Grammar, and Crosslinguistic Variation (Linguistic Inquiry Monographs Book 82)

A comprehensive overview of the semantics and syntax of indexical shift that develops a constrained typology of the phenomenon across languages.The phenomenon of indexical shift–whereby indexicals embedded in speech or attitude reports draw their meaning from an attitude event rather than the utterance context–has been reported in languages spanning five continents and at least ten language families. In this book, Amy Rose Deal offers a comprehensive overview of the semantics and syntax of indexical shift and develops a constrained typology of the phenomenon across languages–a picture of variation that is both rich enough to capture the known facts and restrictive enough to make predictions about currently unknown data points.