Deixis and grounding in speech and thought representation

The aim of this paper is to arrive at a more accurate characterization of the grounding (Langacker, 1991. Foundations of Cognitive Grammar. Volume II: Descriptive Application. Stanford University Press; Stanford.) involved in the reported clauses of the distinct categories of speech and thought representation (STR). These categories involve different modes of establishing the second-order I-you, here-now of the speech event centering around the represented (i.e. not the actual) speaker. A cline in terms of distinct levels of speech function (re-)enactment will be proposed across the polar opposites of direct and indirect speech/ thought, and the 'non-canonical' categories of free indirect and distancing indirect speech/ thought. In the latter type, an initiating clause is first entered into the discourse as a straightforward claim on the part of the speaker, only to be nuanced afterwards in a sort of distancing or disclaiming afterthought (e.g. He mailed you earlier today, he said). The non-canonical types of free and distancing indirect speech or thought are contrasted grammatically in terms of personal and temporal deixis.