Research seminar: Niclas Burenhult, Lund University
Title: Sensory encoding in demonstratives: typology and a case study (Jahai, Austroasiatic, Malay Peninsula).
Seminar
Date:
Thursday 9 October 2025Time:
15.00 – 17.00Location:
C307, Södra huset
Abstract:
Demonstratives that encode sensory modalities, such as vision and hearing, are a family of distinctions reported infrequently in diverse languages and regions. Few such distinctions have been explored in depth, and little is known about their cross-linguistic differences and commonalities.
In this talk, I chalk out an incipient typology of such distinctions against a backdrop of data from Jahai. This Austroasiatic language in the Malay Peninsula has a rich set of demonstrative distinctions, one of which encodes non-visual apprehension of its referent. I conclude with a discussion of the relevance of such distinctions to our general understanding of demonstratives as well as sensory language.
Last updated: 2025-09-22
Source: Department of Linguistics