Reference in the Borderline of Space and Discourse: a Free Production Experiment in Estonian, Finnish and Russian

This study explores spatial reference in three different languages: Estonian, Finnish and Russian. We concentrate on the use of demonstratives (i.e. pronouns and adverbs), and the association between the demonstrative pronoun system (i.e. two- and three-term system) and the use of other referential devices (e.g. noun phrases and third person pronouns). More specifically, we test the influence of the distance of the referent from the speaker and change in the deictic field on the use of demonstratives. We show using a free production experiment that the use of demonstratives has a different susceptibility to these factors in different languages. Furthermore, in these languages, there is an association between the elaborateness of the demonstrative pronoun system and the use of other referential devices.