Distance / Proximity
Deixis
Spatial distance
Proximity
How near or far is it?
extended
intermediate
Context
Maana
Relative distance between speaker, listener, participant, place, or event.
Jinsi ya kuitambua
Notice words that encode near, far, this side, that side, here, there.
Mifano
Maneno
near|far|here|there|this|that
Virai
this house|that mountain|over there
Sentensi
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
Mtazamo wa lugha
Katika lugha yako
Arabic (Modern Standard)
Uwepo
medium
Umuhimu
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.
Katika lugha unayojifunza
Bengali (standard)
Uwepo
strong
Ugumu
Distance is shown by demonstratives, deictic adverbs and spatial expressions.
ওই দোকানটা দূরে।
That shop is far away.
Changamoto ya kawaida kwa wanaojifunza
Learners may not distinguish এই, ওই and সেই in discourse context.
Same block, different coding
Both languages use this block strongly, but they signal it differently. Focus on form changes, not only meaning.