Distance / Proximity
Deixis
Spatial distance
Proximity
How near or far is it?
extended
intermediate
Context
Signification
Relative distance between speaker, listener, participant, place, or event.
Comment le repérer
Notice words that encode near, far, this side, that side, here, there.
Exemples
Mots
near|far|here|there|this|that
Expressions
this house|that mountain|over there
Phrase
This cafe is near the station.
Visual guide
Basic shape
ANCHOR = speaker/listener/place
near: here, this cafe
distance grows ->
far: there, that mountain
Ask: how near/far?
Compare shape
Distance systems: 2-way: this/here | that/there 3-way: near me | near you | far richer: visible? uphill? inside? social distance may choose form
Vue par langue
Dans votre langue
French (standard)
Présence
strong
Importance
Distance and proximity use demonstratives, adverbs, and phrases such as près de and loin de.
Ce café est près de la gare.
This cafe is near the station.
Dans la langue d’apprentissage
Arabic (Modern Standard)
Présence
medium
Difficulté
Arabic has clear near/far demonstrative contrasts and deictic words, with gender and number in formal forms.
هذا قريب وذلك بعيد.
This is near and that is far.
Difficulté fréquente
Learners may ignore gender and number in demonstratives.
Same block, different coding
Both languages use this block strongly, but they signal it differently. Focus on form changes, not only meaning.