Termsthose

Termsthose is a proposed linguistic term used to describe a class of referential items that operate both as lexical terms and as deictic markers signaling discourse-distance. The neologism blends terms with those to emphasize how certain words function as vocabulary items while simultaneously pointing to previously mentioned or contextually salient referents. The concept seeks to capture how some words connect current statements to earlier discourse without introducing new referents.

Origin and usage: The term appears in online glossaries and experimental notes dating to the early 2020s. It is not part of standard grammars and lacks formal acceptance, but researchers employ it to discuss the interface between lexical reference and deixis. In analysis, termsthose are used to tag instances where a word functions to refer back to a defined set of entities rather than to a new referent. The label is therefore primarily a heuristic annotation category rather than a universally recognized grammatical class.

Examples and scope: In English, demonstratives like those can carry termsthose functions when the referent set is defined by prior text. Cross-linguistically, similar devices may fulfill the role in how languages encode discourse-distance. The use of the term termsthose tends to be confined to analytic or pedagogical contexts, and its applicability varies across theories of reference and discourse.

See also: deixis, demonstratives, discourse analysis, referential distance.