Was ist Deixis?

There are a number of linguistic elements whose deictic character is by and large uncontroversial, amongst them I, here and now (German ich, hier and jetzt). Recent theoretical and descriptive treatments, however, have based their definitions of deixis on divergent properties of such elements. In the first part of the present paper, twelve properties of deictic elements are compiled and discussed with particular reference to their general semiotic status. The second part focusses on the opposition of proximity and remoteness (as exemplified by German dies-/jen- and hier/dort) in a number of different types of deixis