Editing Deixis (section)

== Deictic center ==
A deictic center, sometimes referred to as an [[origo (pragmatics)|origo]], is a set of theoretical points that a deictic expression is 'anchored' to, such that the evaluation of the meaning of the expression leads one to the relevant point. As deictic expressions are frequently egocentric, the center often consists of the speaker at the time and place of the utterance and, additionally, the place in the discourse and relevant social factors. However, deictic expressions can also be used in such a way that the deictic center is transferred to other participants in the exchange or to persons / places / etc. being described in a narrative.<ref name="Levinson1">Levinson, Stephen C. "Deixis" in Pragmatics. pp. 54–96.</ref> So, for example, in the sentence;

:I am standing here now.

the deictic center is simply the person at the time and place of speaking. But say two people are talking on the phone long-distance, from London to New York. The Londoner can say,

:We are leaving [London] next week.

in which case the deictic center is in London, or they can equally validly say,

:We are coming [to New York] next week.

in which case the deictic center is in New York.<ref name="Lyons" /> Similarly, when telling a story about someone, the deictic center is likely to switch to him, her or they (third-person pronouns). So then in the sentence;

:He then ran twenty feet to the left.

it is understood that the center is with the person being spoken of, and thus, "to the left" refers not to the speaker's left, but to the object of the story's left, that is, the person referred to as 'he' at the time immediately before he ran twenty feet.