demeanorthat

Demeanorthat is a proposed term in sociolinguistics and discourse analysis describing a phenomenon in which a speaker modulates their outward demeanor—tone, pace, gestures, and facial expression—in a controlled way to align with or distance from a proposition introduced by a demonstrative that-referent. The term blends demeanor with the demonstrative that, signaling how stance is indexed in reference to a specific claim. Etymology traces to the combination of "demeanor" and the demonstrative element "that"; it has appeared in speculative discussions about how affective alignment operates in discourse. It is not widely used or standardized and remains a neologism rather than an established concept.

Function and context: Demeanorthat captures how affective presentation complements verbal content to shape readers' or listeners' interpretation. It can signal endorsement, critique, authority, or distance, and is commonly discussed in political speeches, interviews, and online discourse where nonverbal cues interact with referential frames.

Examples: The speaker's calm, formal demeanor when stating "That proposal will fail" was described as demeanorthat. The pundit's brisk, skeptical tone when addressing "that claim" produced a contrasting demeanorthat effect that emphasized doubt.

Relation to other ideas: It overlaps with stance-taking, face-work, and pragmatics, and is used to analyze how discourse frames the referent of "that" in ways that affect perceived credibility.

Status and future work: The term is not widely adopted; most discussions of similar phenomena use existing concepts in sociolinguistics. If studied further, it would benefit from empirical corpus research and cross-cultural comparison.