Indeksliknende

Indeksliknende is a term used in linguistics to describe expressions whose reference is determined primarily by the context of the utterance rather than by a fixed lexical meaning. The context includes factors such as who is speaking, who is being addressed, and the time and place of the utterance. Because of this, the interpretation of an indeksliknende expression can change from one situation to another.

This category overlaps with, but is broader than, the traditional notion of indexicals and deictics. Common examples include pronouns (I, you), demonstratives (this, that) and temporal or locational adverbs (now, then, here, there). The defining feature is that their reference shifts with the speech event, not with a stable dictionary entry.

Indeksliknende expressions are central to the study of indexicality in semantics and pragmatics. They interact with referential expressions that obtain reference from discourse antecedents (anaphora), but remain distinct in that their reference is anchored in the immediate context rather than in prior mentions.

Cross-linguistic variation plays a role: some languages encode indexical information more richly through morphology or syntax, while others rely mainly on separate words and context. The label indeksliknende is descriptive, reflecting resemblance to indexical expressions; some linguists prefer the term indexical-like expressions or simply indexicals.

See also: indexicality, deixis, pronoun, demonstrative.