Demonstrative

The demonstrative pronoun or suggestive is a part of speech, with which the speaker refers to a topic of conversation, to which one can point the finger ( δεῖξις deixis: " showing "). In many languages, both deictic demonstrative pronouns can be anaphoric as needed (see a deixis vs.. Anaphora ).

The demonstrative pronoun may take the syntagmatic function of two different parts of speech; that of the article or the pronoun. As products word it precedes the noun to which it discloses the removal, as a pronoun, it is instead the noun (only this second use actually justifies the name part Autonomous ), so demonstrative also the more general term is possible.

• Example of the used as demonstrative article in German: This meat tastes good.
• Example of a noun used in English Demonstrative: That one is to blame.

The number of degrees of removal of the demonstrative pronoun differs depending on the language:

• Languages ​​with two degrees of distance ( this vs. that. ): German, French, English, Dutch
• Languages ​​with three degrees of distance ( " me " vs. " with you " vs. " not with me still with you ". . ): Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Basque, Finnish, Georgian

In German there are three paradigms of demonstrative pronouns, on the one hand this, this, this and on the other that, that, that, also emphasized that deictic of that, that which, in the form then is similar to the definite article and the same shape as a form the relative pronoun is. That, that, that is in the spoken language often because of that there, that there replaced or the like.