wskazywan

Wskazywan is a proposed term in linguistic theory used to refer to a hypothetical non-finite verbal form derived from the Polish verb wskazywać, meaning “to indicate” or “to point out.” In this theoretical use, wskazywan would encode the act of indicating within a clause, functioning similarly to gerunds or present participles in other languages. It is not part of standard Polish grammar and has no broad attestation in descriptive grammars; it appears mainly in niche discussions about how languages encode deictic or evidential actions.

Morphology and analysis of wskazywan are speculative and depend on the theoretical framework. Some approaches imagine it as a non-finite form that can interact with aspect, modality, or evidential meaning, serving to foreground the act of indicating rather than its eventual result. Because it is not an attested or widely accepted form in Polish, its exact shape, distribution, and grammatical behavior remain matters of debate in comparative and historical linguistics.

Usage and significance of the concept are primarily in academic discussions rather than practical grammar. Wskazywan is used to illustrate how languages might encode the act of pointing out or indicating at the non-finite level, contributing to cross-linguistic comparisons of deictic and evidential systems. Related terms in Polish grammar include wskazywać (to indicate), wskazywanie (the act of indicating), and wskazywany (indicated, shown). See also deictic expressions and non-finite verb forms in Slavic linguistics.