Deictics and Definite Objects
Բանք ապացուցական եւ որոշական:

Deictic Words

Deixis1 is a fundamental linguistic aspect of all known human languages. Simply put, deixis is the use of certain words (deictic or demonstrative expressions) to represent the spatial relationship between the speaker (deictic center) and another person or object.2 Examples of deictic expressions in English include my–your, this–that, and here–there.3 Clas­sical Arme­nian utilizes a three-point system of Speaker → Listener, and Speaker → Third Party.

The three-point Armenian deictic system correlates with the first, second and third persons, and can be represented by the letters ս, դ and ն. Some basic elements of the system are outlined below:4

Deictic Suffixes   -ս   -դ   -ն

Technically, there are no definite particles (this, that, the) in Clas­sical Arme­nian. Instead, the three deictic or demonstrative suffixes serve to distinguish between indefinite and definite objects.6 The suffix -ս (near speaker) acts like a definite “this”, the suffix -դ (near listener) acts like a definite “this/that”, and the suffix -ն (away from both) acts like a definite “the”. For example:

The suffix -ս, “this” (near speaker) may also act in the sense of “my”, although it is not an actual possessive. Likewise, the suffix -դ, “this/that” (near listener) may also act as “your”. For example:

Deictic suffixes can be used with the singular and plural forms of words in any of the inflected cases. For example:

Forms of Երրոր­դու­թիւն (Trinity), Որդի (Son) or Հոգի (Spirit) are often used with the suffix -դ when referring to them in a prayer or hymn to the Father, since they occupy the same deictic space as the Father (Listener). For example:

In a like manner, the supplicant in a prayer often refers to him- or herself using the suffix -ս. For example:

Here, the English rendering of “this” with the possesive adjective “your” (քո) may seem clumsy, until one considers that “this” refers to the deictic location of the Speaker.

English renderings of Arme­nian often modify or disregard the deictic sense of the suffixes. For example:

Here, the sense that the Son and the Holy Spirit are in the same deictic location as the Father (Listener), may be lost.

The deictic suffix -դ is also used as a vocative “O” in a prayer or hymn. For example:

When a noun is quailfied by an adjective, the deictic suffix is typically added to the noun, unless it’s a proper noun. For example:

When a noun is followed by one or more dependent genitive nouns, the deictic suffix is typically added to the last noun, unless it’s a proper noun. For example:

Definite Objects

In the simple sentence գինի ըմպէի, “I drank wine”, the direct object “wine” can refer to any wine, and consequently is an indefinite object. In the sentence գգինի արեն­ւոյն արբի, “I drank the Areni wine”, the direct object “wine” is specifically the Areni wine, and therefore is a definite object.

In Classical Armenian, the prefix զ- is added to words in the accusative case (direct objects), to mark them as definite objects, as in զգինի in the second sentence above. The same word appears in the following Old Tes­ta­ment verse:

Here, the “wine” is specifically your wine, again a definite object that receives the prefix զ-.

In a multiple-word definite-object accusative expression, the prefix զ- is usually added to the first word only. In older texts, however, one may see the prefix added to other words in the expression as well. For example:

Pronouns in the accusative case are often definite objects that usually have the prefix զ- (e.g., զիս, զքեզ, զնա, զմեզ, զձեզ, and զնոսա), unless part of a multiple-word expression.

Definite Objects with Deictic Suffixes

Since definite objects are specific objects, զ- words are often paired with one of the deictic suffixes, to distinguish the object in relation to the Speaker. For example:

In a multiple-word accusative expression, the prefix զ- would typically be on the first word, and the deictic suffix would be on a subsequent or the last word of the expression (as outlined above). For example:

1 From the Greek δεῖξις (deîxis), “demonstration, reference”, with a Proto-Indo-Euro­pean root of *deyḱ-, “point out”.

2 Deixis also involves the temporal relationships of past, present and future, which are expressed linguistically by the use of verb tenses.

3 Technically speaking, deictic expressions are used to distinguish objects in the immediate context in which they are spoken, by directing attention to them. The object, or demonstratum, is pointed out or focused upon with the intent that both the Speaker and Listener apprehend the same referential object. For example, saying “my bottle of wine” directs attention to a particular bottle of wine at or near the Speaker, and the Listener understands it to be that particular bottle.

4 Some deictic expressions in English are two-point, such as this–that and here–there. Because of this, it is sometimes difficult to accurately render three-point Armenian expressions into English without some degree of ambiguity. For example, այս is typically “this”, այն is typically “that”, but այդ could be “this” or “that”.

5 The suffix -ս is also used for plural in the accusative case, and on occasion it is difficult to contextually determine which use of the suffix is intended.

6 An indefinite object is a noun or substantive that is non-specific, e.g., “a book” (i.e., any book). A definite object is one that is specific, e.g, “the Priest’s old Zohrab Bible”.

7 սրուակ գինւոյն, “the bottle of wine”, could also be rendered “a bottle of the wine”, since the word to which the deictic suffix is added, in a multiple-word phrase, does not reflect the word to which the English particle applies. In some situations, the applicable word can be determined by context, but in others, it would simply be the preference of the translator.

8 This verse, with three զ-…-ն expressions, is an excellent example of the stylistic flexibility of the translator in choosing the particular word to which the English particle applies, or in choosing not to use a particle (as in the second expression).