Syntax definition: 

Syntax is the grammatical structure of words and phrases to create

coherent sentences.

What does syntax mean? Syntax is the grammatical structure of sentences. The

format in which words and phrases are arranged to create sentences is called syntax.
Let’s look at an example of how a sentence can be rearranged to create varied syntax.

Examples of Syntax in a Sentence:

 The boy jumped happily.

 The boy happily jumped.
 Happily, the boy jumped.

Words and phrases must follow English rules for correct arrangement and coherent
sentences.
What is diction? Diction is word choice.
The following examples have similar syntax but different diction.

 The boy jumped happily.

 The girl sang beautifully.
 The dog barked loudly.
Each of these sentences has the same syntax. Each sentence follows the structure of
subject-verb-adverb. However, each sentence uses different diction (word choice).

The following examples have similar diction but different syntax.

 The boy jumped happily.

 The boy happily
 Happily, the boy jumped.
Each of these sentences has the same diction. Each sentence uses the same four
words. However, each sentence has different word order to create different syntax.

In other words, diction and syntax focus on different things. Diction focuses on word
choice, while syntax focuses on the order and structure of those words.

Proper Syntax in English Sentences

In English, a strong, active voice sentence will always have the subject doing the action
of the sentence. These sentences will follow a basic subject-verb-object format.

Below are a few examples of different types of syntax in English. Each of these
examples has different syntax.
Simple sentences follow a subject-verb format.
Simple Syntax Examples:
 The boy jumped.
 The girl sang.
Compound sentences have more than one subject or verb.
Compound Syntax Examples:
 The boy jumped and the girl sang.
 I did not go to the concert but I went to the fair.
Complex sentences contain a subordinating clause.
Complex Syntax Examples:
 The boy jumped even though he was nervous.
 Because she was excited, the girl sang.
Compound-complex sentences contain two independent clauses and more
dependent clauses.
Compound-complex Syntax Examples:
 Even though he was nervous, the boy jumped and he landed across the stream.
 The girl sang and the woman shrieked because they were excited.
Parallel Structure in Sentences
When constructing sentences, it is important to always keep in mind that ideas should
be parallel.

In English, parallel structure is most often an issue when creating a series list.

Therefore, we will look at an example of appropriate parallel structure through lists.
Correct example:
 I like running, jumping, and hiking.
In this example, three gerunds are used (running, jumping, hiking) to create the
grammatically correct list.

Incorrect example:
 I like to run, jumping, and hiking.
In this example, “to run” and “jumping” and “hiking” are not parallel. “To run” is
an infinitive and “jumping” and “hiking” are gerunds. This sentence is grammatically
incorrect and this sentence does not have proper syntax.
Summary: What is Syntax in Literature?
Define syntax: the definition of syntax is,
 the arrangement of words and phrases to create sentences
 a way for writers to express creativity and create interest
 a balance of words that must be parallel to be grammatically correct
Types of Sentence Structures
Types of sentences and their syntax modes include simple sentences, compound
sentences, complex sentences, and compound-complex sentences. Compound
sentences are two simple sentences joined by a conjunction. Complex sentences have
dependent clauses, and compound-complex sentences have both types included.
 Simple sentence: Subject-verb structure ("The girl ran.")
  Compound sentence: Subject-verb-object-conjunction-subject-verb structure
("The girl ran the marathon, and her cousin did, too.")
 Complex sentence: Dependent clause-subject-verb-object structure ("Although
they were tired after the marathon, the cousins decided to go to a celebration at
the park.")
 Compound-complex sentence: Four clauses, dependent and independent
structures ("Although they weren't fond of crowds, this was different, they decided,
because of the common goal that had brought everyone together.")

Phrases and Labels

Some   This is what the top of most of your trees should look like.
Terminology

A sentence always starts with an NP (Noun Phrase) and a VP (Verb

Phrase). Sentences without verb phrases will always earn you a
deduction.

Tip: First try starting your your tree like this. It will usually work.

The "S" is a category label. All your trees must come labeled from now
on (We've passed the point in the course where you use some unlabeled
trees to get used top things).

What the label labels is called a node. The points in the tree the
branches come from are called nodes. In this little incomplete tree, the S
is the mother node. The NP and VP are the daughter nodes.

Let's finish the tree:

The NP node and the VP node now have daughters of their own. The NP
node has two daughters, a Det ("Determiner") node and an N ("Noun")
node. The VP node has one daughter, a V ("Verb") node. Generally
 speaking a Noun Phrase will have an N daughter and a verb phrase will
have a V daughter. These are called their head words. So you should
stop drawing trees that look like this:

Before you leave a tree check to make sure that all the labels make
sense and that all the phrases have heads:

These trees are nonsense trees. There is an NP without a noun in it, a

VP without a verb in it. If a string of words has no noun in it we do not call
it a Noun Phrase (NP).

Every kind of phrase has a typical head.

Phrase Head pairs:

Are there exceptions? Always. But not too many we will worry about.
One important class of exceptions, Pronouns and Proper Names. These
are special kinds of Nouns, really, but we'll draw trees with them like this:

Phrase Head Category Name

NP N Noun

VP V Verb

PP P Preposition

AP A Adjective

AdvP Adv Adverb

What does a   A tree makes some claims about the sentence you're drawing it for. The
tree mean? claim can be right or wrong.

There are two kinds of information a tree makes claims about:

 1. What the categories of the words and phrases in it are in context.
2. What the labels of those words and phrases are in context.

What do I mean by "in context"? I mean in the context of the sentence.

English words can be lots of categories, as we saw in lecture.
Consider still

1. Noun: We built a still in the woods.

2. Verb: We stilled their voices.
3. Adjective: It was a dark and still night.
4. Adverb: We still haven't heard from John.

In each of these sentences still functions as a particular part of speech.

In each of these sentences, there is a correct answer for how to
label still in the tree.
The same is true for phrases. A sequence of words can be a phrase in
one sentence and not in another.

Consider the box in the corner. A perfectly good noun phrase. Here's

what it looks like as a Noun Phrase:

But sometimes box in the corner isn't a Noun Phrase! Here's an

example:
First look at what the tree claims.

The tree claims that the box in the corner isn't a phrase! Why? Because there is no
single node that covers exactly those words.

The tree:

1. It claims that the the box is a phrase (there is an NP node covering those words).
2. It claims that the in the corner is a phrase (there is an PP node covering those
words).
3. It claims that the put the box in the corner is a phrase (there is an VP node
covering those words).
4. But there is no node covering exactly the words the box in the corner

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs—What’s the Difference?

A verb can be described as transitive or intransitive based on whether it requires

an object to express a complete thought or not. A transitive verb is one that only
makes sense if it exerts its action on an object. An intransitive verb will make sense
without one. Some verbs may be used both ways.

The word transitive often makes people think of transit, which leads to the mistaken
assumption that the terms transitive and intransitive are just fancy ways of describing
action and nonaction. But these terms have nothing to do with whether a verb is active
or not. A better word to associate when you see transitive is transfer. A transitive
verb needs to transfer its action to something or someone—an object. In essence,
transitive means “to affect something else.”

Once you have this concept committed to memory, spotting the difference between
transitive and intransitive verbs is quite easy.
How to Identify a Transitive Verb

Transitive verbs are not just verbs that can take an object; they demand objects.
Without an object to affect, the sentence that a transitive verb inhabits will not seem
complete.

Please bring coffee.

In this sentence, the verb bring is transitive; its object is coffee, the thing that is being
brought. Without an object of some kind, this verb cannot function.

Please bring.
Bring what, or who? The question begs itself because the meaning of bring demands it.

Here are some more examples of transitive verbs and their objects.

The girls carry water to their village.

Juan threw the ball.
Could you phone the neighbors?
I caught a cold.
She loves rainbows.
Lila conveyed the message.
Each of the verbs in these sentences have objects that complete the verbs’ actions. If
the objects were taken out, the results would be illogical and questions would be raised
in the mind of the reader; for example, Lila conveyed. Conveyed what?

How to Identify an Intransitive Verb

An intransitive verb is the opposite of a transitive verb: it does not require an object
to act upon.

They jumped.
The dog ran.
She sang.
A light was shining.
None of these verbs require an object for the sentence to make sense, and all of them
can end a sentence. Some imperative forms of verbs can even make comprehensible
one-word sentences.

Run!
Sing!
A number of English verbs can only be intransitive; that is, they will never make sense
paired with an object. Two examples of intransitive-only verbs are arrive and die. You
can’t arrive something, and you certainly can’t die something; it is impossible for an
object to follow these verbs.

Transitive or Intransitive? Some Verbs Can Be Both

Many verbs can be classified as both transitive and intransitive depending on how they
are used in a sentence.

Urged by the others, she sang.

She sang the national anthem at the hockey game.
After he cleaned up, he left.
He left the gift on the table.
To decide whether the verb is being used transitively or intransitively, all you need to do
is determine whether the verb has an object. Does she sing something? Does he leave
something? The verb is only transitive when the answer is yes.

When in doubt, look it up. In the dictionary, verbs will be listed as transitive, intransitive,
or both right under the pronunciation key, and any possible differences in meaning
between the two uses will be given as well.

Phrasal Verbs and Transitivity

Phrasal verbs can also be classified as transitive or intransitive.

Cindy has decided to give up sweets while she diets.

I hope Cindy doesn’t give up.
Give up is just one of many phrasal verbs that can be transitive or intransitive.
Whether give up has an object or not will alter the meaning it conveys. The first sense
of give up means “to forgo something,” whereas the second sense means “to stop
trying.”

If we refuse to learn about transitivity, the Grammar Police will blow up our building.
When the Grammar Police confronted her about her verbs, she blew up.
The first sense of to blow up means to explode, whereas the second sense means “to
express rage.”
Transitive or intransitive is just one of the many classifications a verb can have.
Perhaps you will be inspired to read about more about the fascinating qualities
of verbs. 

Active vs. Passive Voice

Active voice means that a sentence has a subject that acts upon its verb. Passive
voice means that a subject is a recipient of a verb’s action. You may have learned that
the passive voice is weak and incorrect, but it isn’t that simple. When used correctly and
in moderation, the passive voice is fine.

In English grammar, verbs have five properties: voice, mood, tense, person, and
number; here, we are concerned with voice. The two grammatical voices are active and
passive.

What’s the difference between active and passive voice?

Active voice

When the subject of a sentence performs the verb’s action, we say that the sentence is
in the active voice. Sentences in the active voice have a strong, direct, and clear tone.
Here are some short and straightforward examples of active voice.

Active voice examples

Monkeys adore bananas.

The cashier counted the money.
The dog chased the squirrel.
All three sentences have a basic active voice construction: subject, verb, and object.
The subject monkey performs the action described by adore. The subject the
cashier performs the action described by counted. The subject the dog performs the
action described by chased. The subjects are doing, doing, doing—they take action in
their sentences. The active voice reminds us of the popular Nike slogan, “Just Do It.”

Passive voice

A sentence is in the passive voice, on the other hand, when the subject is acted on by
the verb. The passive voice is always constructed with a conjugated form of to be plus
the verb’s past participle. Doing this usually generates a preposition as well. That
sounds much more complicated than it is—passive voice is actually quite easy to
detect. For these examples of passive voice, we will transform the three active
sentences above to illustrate the difference.

Passive voice examples

Bananas are adored by monkeys.

The money was counted by the cashier.
The squirrel was chased by the dog.
Let’s take a closer look at the first pair of sentences, “Monkeys adore bananas” and
“Bananas are adored by monkeys.” The active sentence consists of monkeys (subject)
+ adore (verb) + bananas (object). The passive sentence consists of bananas (object)
+ are adored (a form of to be plus the past participle adored) + by (preposition)
+ monkeys (subject). Making the sentence passive flipped the structure and
necessitated the preposition by. In fact, all three of the transformed sentences above
required the addition of by.

When to use active and passive voice

Using the active voice conveys a strong, clear tone and the passive voice is subtler and
weaker. Here’s some good advice: don’t use the passive voice just because you think it
sounds a bit fancier than the active voice.

That said, there are times the passive voice is useful and called for. Take “The squirrel
was chased by the dog,” for example. That sentence construction would be helpful if the
squirrel were the focus of your writing and not the dog.

A good rule of thumb is to try to put the majority of your sentences in the active voice,
unless you truly can’t write your sentence in any other way.

How to change a sentence in passive voice to active voice

Here is an example of a business communication that could be strengthened by

abandoning the passive voice.

An error has occurred with your account, but every attempt was made to remedy it.
That sentence is not incorrect, but it does sound a bit stiff and dishonest. It sounds less
trustworthy than it could—almost evasive. Who wants to do business with a company
that avoids taking full responsibility by slipping into formal passive voice territory? Face
the responsibility head on instead. Own it.
We made an error with your account, but we have made every attempt to remedy it.
To make that sentence active rather than passive, I identified the subject: we. It was
“our company” that was responsible.

If there are any questions, I can be reached at the number below.

Here’s a tip: What to remember: to change a sentence from passive voice into active
voice, identify the subject.
The structure of this sentence is weak because it doesn’t identify the subjects in either
clause. Let’s unveil them. Who might have questions to ask? The person being
addressed: you. Who will be doing the reaching (by calling the number below)? It is still
the communication’s recipient.
If you have any questions, call me at the number below.
Phonology

What is Phonology?
Phonology is the study of the patterns of sounds in a language and across languages.
Put more formally, phonology is the study of the categorical organisation of speech
sounds in languages; how speech sounds are organised in the mind and used to
convey meaning. In this section of the website, we will describe the most common
phonological processes and introduce the concepts of underlying representations for
sounds versus what is actually produced, the surface form.
Phonology can be related to many linguistic disciplines, including psycholinguistics,
cognitive science, sociolinguistics and language acquisition. Principles of phonology can
also be applied to treatments of speech pathologies and innovations in technology. In
terms of speech recognition, systems can be designed to translate spoken data into
text. In this way, computers process the language like our brains do. The same
processes that occur in the mind of a human when producing and receiving language
occur in machines. One example of machines decoding language is the popular
intelligence system, Siri.

Phonology vs. Phonetics – the key differences

Phonology is concerned with the abstract, whereas phonetics is concerned with the
physical properties of sounds. In phonetics we can see infinite realisations, for example
every time you say a ‘p’ it will slightly different than the other times you’ve said it.
However, in phonology all productions are the same sound within the language’s
phoneme inventory, therefore even though every ‘p’ is produced slightly different every
time, the actual sound is the same. This highlights a key difference between phonetic
and phonology as even though no two ‘p’s are the same, they represent the same
sound in the language.

Phonemes V. Allophones
Phonemes are the meaningfully different sound units in a language (the smallest units
of sound). For example, ‘pat’ and ‘bat’ differ in their first phoneme: the “p” and “b”.
Vowels are also phonemes, so “pat” and “pet” differ by a phoneme, too (But phonemes
don’t always match up with spelling!). When two words differ by a single phoneme they
are known as a minimal pair.

Allophones are different ways to pronounce a phoneme based on its environment in a

word. For example, the two allophones of /l/ in “little” are actually produced slightly
differently, and the second one sounds slightly deeper. These different “l”s always occur
in different environments in words, which is known as “complementary distribution”.

Phonology looks at many different things…

 Why do related forms differ? Sane—Sanity. Electric—Electricity/ Atom—
Atomic
 Phonology finds the systematic ways in which the forms differ and
explains them
 What is stored in the mind?
 Phonology studies abstract mental entities, such as structures and
processes. This contrasts with phonetics, which deals with the actual
production and acoustics of the sounds of language.
 What sounds go together?
 Looks at what sounds/sound combinations are accepted and why.
 How are sounds organized into syllables?
 With the use of phonological trees syllables are broken up more easily.
Syllables are made up of a rhyme and an onset (any consonants before the
rhyme). The rhyme made up of a nucleus (the vowel sound(s) in the syllable,
the key component of all syllables) and a coda (any consonants following the
nucleus).
 What are the differences between languages?
 For example, different languages can used different phonemes, or
different syllable structures (what sounds can go together to make sequences
or words) and phonology identifies these differences.
Phonetics

[weɫkəm tuː fənetɪks]

 

Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that focuses on the production and classification of

the world’s speech sounds.  The production of speech looks at the interaction of
different vocal organs, for example the lips, tongue and teeth, to produce particular
sounds.  By classification of speech, we focus on the sorting of speech sounds into
categories which can be seen in what is called the International Phonetic Alphabet
(IPA).  The IPA is a framework that uses a single symbol to describe each distinct
sound in the language and can be found in dictionaries and in textbooks worldwide. For
example, the noun ‘fish’ has four letters, but the IPA presents this as three sounds: f i ʃ,
where ‘ʃ’ stands for the ‘sh’ sound.
Phonetics as an interdisciplinary science has many applications. This includes its use in
forensic investigations when trying to work out whose voice is behind a recording.
Another use is its role in language teaching and learning, either when learning a first
language or when trying to learn a foreign language. This section of the website will look
at some of the branches of phonetics as well as the transcription of speech and some
history behind phonetics.

Phonetics Vs. Phonology – the key differences

Phonetics looks at the physical production of sounds, focusing on which vocal organs
are interacting with each other and how close these vocal organs are in relation to one
another. Phonetics also looks at the concept of voicing, occurring at the pair of muscles
found in your voice box, also known as the Adam’s apple. If the vocal folds are
vibrating, this creates voicing and any sound made in this way are called voiced sounds,
for example “z”. If the vocal folds are not vibrating, this does not lead to voicing and
creates a voiceless sound e.g. “s”. You can observe this yourself by placing two fingers
upon your voice box and saying “z” and “s” repeatedly. You should feel vibrations
against your finger when saying “z” but no vibrations when saying “s”.

Phonology however is associated more with the abstract properties of sounds, as it is

about how these categories are stored in the mind. Phonetics also describes certain
properties as being gradient such as voicing where we can compare the length of
voicing between two sounds. For example in French, [b] is voiced for longer than
English [b]. In Phonology, these segments are simply defined categorically as being
voiced or voiceless, regardless of these subtle differences.

A phoneme is when different sounds are placed in the same environment and the
meaning of the word changes. ... Allophones are when different sounds are placed in
the same environment, they do not change the meaning of a word.

Aspirated syllable-pronounced with sound of breath

unaspirated syllable-not aspirated especially : not pronounced with the sound of a
breath or the letter "h"
Plus Sign means the word's presence (nasal)
Minus Sign means the absence of words (nasal)

What is pragmatics?

A Definition of Pragmatics
 the study of the practical aspects of human action and thought.
 the study of the use of linguistic signs, words and sentences, in actual situations.
[1]
Pragmatics outlines the study of meaning in the interactional context
It looks beyond the literal meaning of an utterance and considers how meaning is
constructed as well as focusing on implied meanings. It considers language as an
instrument of interaction, what people mean when they use language and how we
communicate and understand each other.

Jenny Thomas[2] says that pragmatics considers:

 the negotiation of meaning between speaker and listener.

 the context of the utterance.
 the meaning potential of an utterance.
What would happen to language if Pragmatics did not exist?
Pragmatics acts as the basis for all language interactions and contact. It is a key feature
to the understanding of language and the responses that follow this. Therefore, without
the fucntion of Pragmatics, there would be very little understanding of intention and
meaning.

We would like to demonstrate this by showing you how life would be WITHOUT
Pragmatics:

‘Can you pass the salt?’

Literal Meaning: Are you physically able to do this task?

Literal Response: ‘Yes’

(Pragmatic Meaning: Will you pass me the salt?

Pragmtic Response: pass the salt to the speaker.)

‘What time do you call this?’

Literal Meaning: What time is it?

Literal Response: A time (e.g. ‘twenty to one.’)

(Pragmatic Meaning: a different question entirely, e.g. Why are you so late?
Pragmatic Response: Explain the reason for being so late.)

im·pli·ca·ture
  
1. the action of implying a meaning beyond the literal sense of what is explicitly
stated, e.g., saying the frame is nice and implying I don't like the picture in it.
 
MAXIM OF DISCOURSE (CONVERSATION)-
 
Pragmantics
 
Maxim of quality[edit]
Supermaxim
 Try to make your contribution one that is true.
Submaxims
 Do not say what you believe is false.
 Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.[4]
Maxim of quantity[edit]
 Make your contribution as informative as is required (for the current purposes of
the exchange).
 Do not make your contribution more informative than is required.
Maxim of relation (or relevance)[edit]
 Be relevant.
With respect to this maxim, Grice writes, "Though the maxim itself is terse, its
formulation conceals a number of problems that exercise me a good deal:
questions about what different kinds and focuses of relevance there may be, how
these shift in the course of a talk exchange, how to allow for the fact that subjects
of conversations are legitimately changed, and so on. I find the treatment of such
questions exceedingly difficult, and I hope to revert to them in later work." [1]
Maxim of manner[edit]
Supermaxim
 Be perspicuous.
Submaxims
 Avoid obscurity of expression.
 Avoid ambiguity.
 Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity).
 Be orderly.
DEFINITION of Maxims
 The maxim of quantity, where one tries to be as informative as one possibly
can, and gives as much information as is needed, and no more.
 The maxim of quality, where one tries to be truthful, and does not give
information that is false or that is not supported by evidence.
 The maxim of relation, where one tries to be relevant, and says things that are
pertinent to the discussion.
 The maxim of manner, when one tries to be as clear, as brief, and as orderly as
one can in what one says, and where one avoids obscurity and ambiguity.
As the maxims stand, there may be an overlap, as regards the length of what one
says, between the maxims of quantity and manner; this overlap can be explained
 (partially if not entirely) by thinking of the maxim of quantity (artificial though this
approach may be) in terms of units of information. In other words, if the listener
needs, let us say, five units of information from the speaker, but gets less, or more
than the expected number, then the speaker is breaking the maxim of quantity.
However, if the speaker gives the five required units of information, but is either too
curt or long-winded in conveying them to the listener, then the maxim of manner is
broken. The dividing line however, may be rather thin or unclear, and there are
times when we may say that both the maxims of quantity and quality are broken by
the same factors.
pre·sup·po·si·tion
 
noun
a thing tacitly assumed beforehand at the beginning of a line of argument or
course of action.
presupposition (or PSP) is an implicit assumption about the world or background
belief relating to an utterance whose truth is taken for granted in
discourse. Examples of presuppositions include: Jane no longer writes fiction.

 speech act theory was introduced by Oxford philosopher J.L. Austin in How to Do

Things With Words and further developed by American philosopher J.R. Searle. It
considers the degree to which utterances are said to perform locutionary acts,
illocutionary acts, and/or perlocutionary acts.
 
 three different categories. They are,

1. Locutionary act – This is the act of saying something. It has a meaning and
it creates an understandable utterly to convey or express
2. Illocutionary act –  It is performed as an act of saying something or as an act
of opposed to saying something. The illocutionary utterance has a certain
force of it. It well well-versed with certain tones, attitudes, feelings, or
emotions. There will be an intention of the speaker or others in illocutionary
utterance. It is often used as a tone of warning in day today life
3. Perlocutionary act – It normally creates a sense of consequential effects on
the audiences. The effects may be in the form of thoughts, imaginations,
feelings or emotions. The effect upon the addressee is the main charactership
of perlocutionary utterances
 
To make it short:
 
 Locutionary force—referential value (meaning of code)
 Illocutionary force—performative function (implication of speaker)
 Perlocutionary force—perceived effect (inference by addressee)

Deixis
Definition: 
Deixis is reference by means of an expression whose interpretation is relative to the
(usually) extralinguistic context of the utterance, such as:

 who is speaking
 the time or place of speaking
 the gestures of the speaker
 the current location in the discourse

Discourse Deixis
Definition: 
Discourse deixis is deictic reference to a portion of a discourse relative to the speaker's
current “location” in the discourse.
Kinds: 

Switch Reference-
Switch reference is a grammatical category with the following features:
 It signals the identity or nonidentity of the referent of an argument of one clause,
usually its subject, with an argument of another clause, which is likewise usually
the subject.
Switch reference functions to avoid ambiguity of reference; for example, it may
distinguish between two referents that are third person and that, thus, may not be
otherwise distinguished on the verb.

 It relates clauses, usually adjacent, that may be subordinate or coordinate to one

another.
 It is expressed
o usually by inflectional affixes on the verb
o sometimes by the same affixes that express subject-verb agreement
within the clause, and
o rarely by a morpheme independent of the verb.

Token-Reflexive Deixis-
Definition: 
Token-reflexive deixis is discourse deixis in which the deictic expression refers to the
expression or speech act in which it occurs.
Examples: 
 This is what phoneticians call "creaky voice."
[the utterance itself is spoken with creaky voice]
  I hereby apologize.

Empathetic Deixis
Definition: 
Empathetic deixis is the metaphorical use of deictic forms to indicate emotional or other
psychological “distance” or “proximity” between a speaker and a referent.
Examples: 
(English)

 The use of this to indicate the speaker’s empathy

 The use of that to indicate the speaker’s emotional distance

Examples: 
(English)
Use of this to refer to a story one is about to tell in:
 I bet you haven’t heard this story.
Reference to Chapter 7 of a book by means of in the next chapter or in the previous
chapter, depending on whether the reference is made from Chapter 6 or 8.
Use of this in a creaky-voiced utterance of:
 This is what phoneticians call a creaky voice

Person Deixis
Definition: 
Person deixis is deictic reference to the participant role of a referent, such as

 the speaker
 the addressee, and
 referents which are neither speaker nor addressee.

Discussion: 
Person deixis is commonly expressed by the following kinds of constituents:

 Pronouns
 Possessive affixes of nouns
 Agreement affixes of verbs

Kinds: 

 First Person Deixis

 Second Person Deixis
 Third Person Deixis
Place Deixis
Definition: 
Place deixis is deictic reference to a location relative to the location of a participant in
the speech event, typically the speaker.
Kinds: 

 Boundedness

Examples: 
(English)

 this (way)
 that (direction)
 here
 there

Social Deixis
Definition: 
Social deixis is reference to the social characteristics of, or distinctions between, the
participants or referents in a speech event.
Kinds: 

 Absolute Social Deixis

 Relational Social Deixis

Examples: 
The distinction, found in many Indo-European languages, between familiar and
polite second person pronouns is an expression of social deixis.

Time Deixis
Definition: 
Time deixis is reference to time relative to a temporal reference point. Typically, this
point is the moment of utterance.
Examples: 
 Temporal adverbs
o now / then
o yesterday / today / tomorrow
 Distinctions in tense