Deictic features: Evidence from SKWXWÚ7MESH

In this paper, I describe the determiner and demonstrative system of Skwxwú7mesh, a Coast Salish language spoken in southwestern British Columbia. The determiners and demonstratives have previously been described as having deictic properties (Kuipers 1967 and Peter Jacobs [personal communication to Elizabeth Currie; cited in Currie 1997]). I provide evidence for these deictic properties. I show that the previous descriptions do not capture the entire modern system. I also show that most of the determiners and all of the demonstratives are deictic, and that one of the determiners is more accurately described as nondeictic. This determiner lacks all deictic features, and this lack of features has consequences for its interpretation.