deicticcenter

Deictic center is a concept in linguistics that refers to the reference point from which deictic expressions are interpreted. It serves as the implicit anchor for dimensions of person, place, and time in a given communication situation. Typically the deictic center is the speaker’s present location in space and time, or the narratorial viewpoint in a text, but it can shift depending on perspective.

Deictic expressions point toward or away from the deictic center. For example, I am here now locates both the speaker and the moment at the center, while you over there then indicates the addressee’s vantage point at a different place and time. Demonstratives such as this and that likewise rely on the center to determine distance and reference, and time expressions like now and then depend on the center for temporal anchoring.

In discourse, the deictic center can move. Quoted speech, reported speech, or a change in narrator or perspective may re-anchor the center to another point in space or time. Such shifts help manage point of view and coherence across sentences and larger stretches of text or dialogue.

Cross-linguistic and modality differences influence how deictic centers are expressed. Some languages encode deictic shifts with specific grammatical forms or demonstratives; sign languages use spatial mapping relative to the signer to establish a deictic center in a shared space. Overall, the deictic center is central to how speakers and listeners orient themselves to persons, places, and moments within communication.