Indexes in language and linguistics

Indexicality has been a central concept in semiotics since the triad of symbol, icon, and index was introduced by C. S. Peirce, and the concept has been applied to a wide range of linguistic phenomena, from bound allomorphy and subordination mechanisms to deictic elements such as personal pronouns and the choice of linguistic variants in social interaction. As a point of departure for the volume, this chapter gives an extensive introduction to the concept of linguistic indexicality: the pointing of a linguistic element to something outside of itself. The chapter presents a typology of different kinds of indexical functions and surveys the conception of linguistic indexicality in different research traditions, particularly formal semantics, sociolinguistics, and the Peircean heritage in structural and functional linguistics. It introduces and discusses key aspects of indexical relations and indexicality in language structure and language change and provides an overview of the content of the volume.