Deictic Field “Time of Action” in the Semantics of the Pashto Language, the “Time” Field: Background of the Problem

The article examines the semantic modeling of the category of time in language through the lens of deictic field theory, with a focus on Pashto adverbs. It outlines four major approaches to modeling semantic fields - phenomenological, lexical-semantic, functional-grammatical, and functional-semantic - highlighting their application to the temporal domain. Special attention is given to the concept of deixis, understood as the reference of linguistic units to participants, time, and space of the speech act, and its role in structuring temporal meaning. Based on an analysis of thirteen non-derivative Pashto temporal adverbs, the study identifies the deictic field “time of action” as a system organized by three oppositions: speech vs. narrative modes, moment of speech vs. moment of another action, and coincidence vs. precedence vs. sequence. The research demonstrates that Pashto temporal adverbs acquire their semantics in the communicative act, functioning as correlates between the moment of speech and narrated events, and are thus integral to expressing temporal relations in discourse.