Research has shown that demonstratives are used beyond their basic meanings to encode various extended discourse functions. Based on data from the Lobr dialect of Dagaare (Niger–Congo: Gur/Mabia), the present study hypothesises that the syntactic position of demonstratives and their ‘qualitative features’ (i.e. non-deictic semantic features) influence their discourse uses. The study examines the extended discourse uses of two distal demonstratives, nὲ, a demonstrative determiner that identifies lower order ontological entities (i.e. material phenomena, including humans), and lὲ, a demonstrative pronoun that refers to higher order ontological entities (i.e. phenomena such as locutions, ideas and actions). The study shows that the demonstrative determiner nὲ extends its uses within the nominal domain to encode speaker attitude towards referents and to express a range of stances and presuppositions that contribute to the management of interpersonal relations among interactants, such as establishing common ground and focus reinforcement. The free-standing demonstrative pronoun lὲ, on the other hand, extends its uses beyond the nominal domain to serve discourse organization functions such as a frame signalling device and textual cohesion. The study shows how demonstratives extend their domain of discourse uses from spatio-temporal deixis to textual and psycho-social deixis.

研究表明，指示语已超出其基本含义，用于编码各种扩展的话语功能。基于达加拉尔语的卢布方言（尼日尔-刚果：古尔/马比亚）的数据，本研究假设，指示词的句法位置及其“定性特征”（即非非语义性特征）会影响其话语使用。该研究考察了两个远端指示词的扩展话语使用：nὲ是一个指示性确定词，它标识了较低阶的本体论实体（即包括人类在内的物质现象）；lὲ是一个指示代词，它指的是较高阶本体论实体（即诸如意见，想法和行动）。研究表明，指示性决定者nὲ扩展其在标称域内的用途，以编码说话者对被指的态度，并表达一系列有助于管理互动者之间人际关系的立场和预设，例如建立共同点和重点增强。另一方面，独立的指示代词lὲ将其用途扩展到名义领域之外，以服务于话语组织功能，例如帧信号装置和文本衔接。研究表明，指示词如何将他们的话语使用范围从时空时空延伸到语篇和心理社会性延伸。