It is generally acknowledged that perception of and orientation in space are determinant
factors in human action and interaction. As such, speech heavily depends on knowledge
of the context: Where and When is a sentence uttered, and by Whom. These three
dimensions are traditionally seen as the so-called deictic centre of all linguistic events,
without which no linguistic expression can be properly interpreted. Svorou’s (1993)
observation, that social and psychological conditions are also relevant factors in the
deictic anchorage of language, fully applies to the East-Nusantara Region.
With deixis we mean here all cues provided by a language that localise a speech event
and its participants (Speaker, Hearer and narrated participant) in space and time.
Anderson and Keenan (1985) distinguish three major categories of deixis: person
deixis, spatial deixis and temporal deixis. The category linking social and psychological
factors is tentatively labelled ‘psychological’ deixis at the workshop.