• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.13-24
• /
• 2004

This paper deals with the anaphoric usage of demonstratives when they refer to what are already mentioned in the context. We examine syntactic, semantic and pragmatic factors that contribute to the choice of demonstratives. As for anaphoric usage, English and Spanish show the even distribution between proximal and distal demonstratives with the meaning of their deictic counterparts. Korean and Russian, however, show the uneven distribution of the more prevalent form (unmarked on) and the lesser one (market one). This study aims at a typological explanation for the anaphoric usage of demonstratives through comparison and contrast with such factors as the distance to the antecedent, cognitive status, psychological distance and the center of attention.