Deictics and Related Phenomena in Kuki-Chin ICSTLL 46, August 7 th , 2013, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH Kenneth Baclawski Jr. Dartmouth College & University of California, Berkeley 1. Introduction Deictic demonstratives and related forms exhibit complex interrelationships in Kuki-Chin languages. A noun phrase-initial demonstrative may appear phonologically and semantically identical to pronominal, noun phrase-, clause-, and sentence-final forms. In fact, in some languages, demonstratives seem to circumfix noun phrases. In other languages, however, the connection is much more opaque. To add to this array of deictic forms, copulas, relativizers, and other grammatical and lexical items are often clearly related to deictic demonstratives. Various scholars have investigated the syntax and semantics of these deictic demonstratives, though usually in one particular language and often focusing on syntax (e.g. Barnes 1998, Lehman 2003, Bedell 2001) or comparatively in passing in larger articles or reference grammars (e.g. Chhangte 1989, King 2010). This paper will outline the realm of the “Kuki- Chin deictic” and explore the phonological, syntactic, and semantic variation seen in a variety of languages. First, the notions of “deixis” and “deictic” as used here will be explained, and prototypical Kuki-Chin deictics presented. Individual sections on noun phrase-initial spatial deictics, pronominal referential deictics, and noun phrase-, clause- and sentence-final discourse deictics will follow. Lastly, these paradigms will be visualized diachronically in terms of a deictic cycle. 1.1 Deixis Deixis, broadly, is the encoding of context in speech. For example, the words 'today' and 'tonight' generally depend on a mutual understanding of exactly which day it happens to be at the time of discourse. Many grammatical items also involve deixis in some way. In fact, Jakobson (1957) reduces each Russian verbal affix to a particular deictic force. Certain grammatical items, however, are primarily or completely concerned with marking deixis. Demonstratives are differentiated from third- person pronouns and definite articles by the fact that they overtly place referents in context (Diessel 1999). Additionally, a universal trait of demonstratives is at least two (but rarely more than three) distance-contrasts. In the deixis literature, the deictic center is referred to as the origo (Lenz 2003). This origo may include the speaker and addressee (cf. distance-oriented deixis), or the speaker at the exclusion of the hearer (cf. person-oriented deixis) (Diessel 1999). Deixis may be used to mark context in physical space (spatial deixis), time (temporal deixis), and position of referents in discourse (discourse deixis). 1.2 Deictics This use of “deictic” is largely coterminous with Diessel (1999)'s “demonstrative”. Deictics that mark referents near the origo will be termed proximal. Those that pertain specifically to the hearer will be referred to as addressee-proximal. Otherwise intermediate deictics that mark referents between the origo and the most remote deictic will be called mediodistal. Lastly, deictics that mark remoteness will be termed distal. Deictics may also mark other semantics like uphill/downhill. Cross-linguistically, 1