Distance : between deixis and perspectivity

Discussing exemplary applications of the notion of distance in linguistic analysis, this paper shows that very different phenomena are described in terms of this concept. It is argued that in order to overcome the problems arising from this mixup, deixis, distance and perspectivity have to be distinguished and their interrelations need to be described. Thereby, distance emerges as part of a recursive process mediating between situation-bound deixis and discourse-level perspectivity. This is illustrated using the Balkan Slavic preterite system as an example, where these three levels interact in the construction of the ‘multiperspective’