Functional extension of demonstratives: The case of person reference in Thai and Korean

Abstract

This paper addresses the development of demonstratives into forms of person reference in Thai and Korean from a grammaticalization perspective, based on data from diverse sources. While demonstratives are common sources of grammaticalization for personal pronouns, such sources are predominantly medial or distal, and personal pronouns that have developed from demonstratives are nearly exclusively third-person pronouns. However, we show that in Thai and Korean, demonstratives, proximal in the case of Thai, can be used for first-person reference “I”. In Thai, the system of reference is complex and open-ended as it blends into the open class of nominals. While pronoun choice is determined by numerous factors, we contend that it is invariably tied to interpersonal stance-marking, and that the proximal ni^: has only recently emerged as “I” to present a speaker’s neutral stance and give a more objective and authoritative overtone to the utterance. Korean has likewise innovated some demonstrative-based “place” and “side” nouns for person reference across all grammatical persons for similar socio-pragmatic and cultural reasons. We argue that the development of demonstratives into the paradigm of personal pronouns in the two languages has been motivated by a need or desire to fill gaps in existent systems by recruiting available forms to suit discursive needs.