CHAPTER I
PREFACE1. The Background
The university students of English department study or investigate the language as the main object. English language is the foreign language especially for the university student of Indonesia who takes English department of education faculty. Certainly, they must know well about the theories of language. It can be said because they study English language in order to be the teacher. It means that they will teach the students of elementary school, junior school or senior high school.
Study of language means study what are the rules of language, how the language is used, how the language is processed, how the language is produced. The students of English language investigate the language as the main object, so in study of language the will study about the discipline of language such as, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics.
In this working paper will discuss about the one of material which studies in pragmatics. There are some definitions of pragmatics as pragmatics is the study of the meaning according the context, pragmatics also can be defined the study of how the meaning of sentence (or other linguistics unit) changes depending on how and where it is expressed, or of the structural ambiguity in language. The university students who get language faculty must study about pragmatics. It can be said because pragmatics is the one of discipline linguistics. Indeed, it happens in the university student of English language. They must know well about pragmatics in order to be able teach their student in good way especially for English department of education faculty.
There are some materials in pragmatics such us, deixis and distance, reference and in reference, presupposition and entailment, cooperation and implicature, speech acts and events, politeness and interaction, discourse and culture, and conversation and analysis. But in this working paper will investigate about deixis and distance only as the object explaining.
2. The Problems
Some of the problems that will explain in this working paper, as follows:
1. What is the meaning of deixis?
2. How many kinds of deixis?
3. What is the correlation deixis and grammar?
CHAPTER II
ANALYSIS
1. The meaning of deixis
Deixis term is formed from Greek’s words which mean “pointing” or “referring”. According to Lyons (1977:677), deixis can be meant as location, people identification, object, event, process, or the activities which are being talked or referred by speaker and hearer or addresser. Nababan (1987:40), explained that in linguistics there are reference term as word or phrase which show word and phrase or utterance when be talked. The reference is called deixis. According Bambang Kaswanti Purwo (1984:1), a word will be meant deixis if the reference is not absolute or can be changed depend on who is speaker, when and where the words are uttered.
Based on some arguments, it can be conclude that deixis is semantics indication which is in words or the contractions which its references can be explained by the situation of the speaker. Clearly, deixis is pragmatics initiative to understand semantics meaning.
The kinds of deictic words are I, we, you, they, this, that, here, and there. The meaning of these deictic expressions depend the interpretation of the speaker and hearer or addresser.
Lavinson (1983) gave the example to explain how important the information of deixis. The example is if you find a bottle in beach which has content a letter which messages as follow:
“Meet me here a week from now with a stick about this big”
This message doesn’t have the contextual background, so it’s not very informative. It can be said because deixis expression will have the meaning when it can be explained by reader. Actually, the deixis expression includes in pragmatics domain. But, because the finding this meaning is very important to understand the purpose and the condition which really happen, so in the same time deixis include in semantics domain. Generally, we can say that deixis expression is the part which references in the utterances which correlates with the situation of context, expression in advance, indication, etc.
2. The kinds of deixis
Person deixis, spatial deixis, and temporal deixis, they are kinds of deixis in English language. Actually, there are other kinds of deixis such as social deixis. But, it will not explain more in this working paper. In this working paper just will explain about three kinds of deixis only.
a) Person deixis
Person deixis indicates the role of the participants in the conversation such as, speaker, hearer, and the other entities. To learn this deictic expression discovers that each person in the conversation shifts from being “I” to being “you” constantly.
Person deixis is determined by the role of the participants in the conversation. The participant role can be divided in three parts, the first person, the second person, and the third person.
The first person is the speaker references category to him or her self or the group which involve him or her self; the words are “I” and “we”.
The second person is the speaker references category to hearer or the other person which is together with the first speaker; the word is “you”.
The third person is the speaker references category to who is not the speaker or hearer the utterance, neither present or not; the words are “she”, “he”, “they”, and “it”.
Communicating distance in the person deixis
There is the communicating distance happens in the person deixis person especially in third person. In deictic terms, third person is not a direct participant in basic (I-you) interaction. It is being an outsider. Third person pronouns are consequently distal forms in term of person deixis.
Using a third person form, where a second person form would be possible, is one way of communicating distance (and non familiarity). This can be done in English ironic and humorous purpose as when one person, who’s very busy in the kitchen, addressee other, who’s being very lazy, such us:
Would his highness like some coffee?
Exclusive and inclusive in the deictic expression “we” and “us”
In English, there is a potential ambiguity in such uses which allows two different interpretations. There is an exclusive “we” (refers to speaker plus other(s), excluding addressee) and an inclusive “we” (refers to speaker and addressee included). For example in the sentence:
“We have presented the material of pragmatics”
From the sentence above, “We” have a potential ambiguity which allows two different interpretations. If “We” is meant in an exclusive, it refers to the speaker and other(s) but the addressee is excluded. But, if “We” is meant in an inclusive, it refers to the speaker and the addressee.
The exclusive and the inclusive distinction may also be noted in the difference between saying as follows:
1. ‘Let us go’ (refers to the speaker and someone who has captured the speaker, and also friends, but it’s not included the addresses)
2. ‘Let’s go’ (refers to the speaker and some friends, and also the speaker)
The utterance which include exclusive is the first sentence, and the second sentence is included in inclusive.
b) Spatial deixis
Spatial deixis is a form gift to place according to the participants in the conversation. The words of spatial deixis are; “this”, “here”, “that”, and “there”. Actually, there are words of archaic spatial deixis such us, “yonder” (more distance from speaker), “hither” (to this place) and “thence” (from that place). Now those words are rare used.
Physically distance in spatial deixis
The word “this”, “here”, “that”, and “there” are consequently physically distance. It can be explained by some example as follows:
This is my pen (“this” indicates a near distance or can be seen. Indeed, the word “this” show that pen is near with speaker)
Put my pen here (“here” indicates a near distance or can be seen. Indeed, the word “here” show that the speaker order addresser to put speaker’s pen near with speaker)
That is my pen (“that” indicates a longer distance. Indeed, the word “that” show pen is far with speaker)
Put my pen there (“there” indicates a longer distance. Indeed, the word “there” show that the speaker order addresser to put speaker’s pen far with speaker)
Psychological distance
In the spatial deixis term, there is psychological distance in word “here”. It will be clearer by the example as follows:
“I was looking at this little puppy in a cage with such a sad look on its face. It was like, ‘oh, I’m so unhappy here, will you set me free?”
Although, who said “here” in this utterance is the speaker, it doesn’t refer to the speaker’s place. The word “here” refers to a little puppy’s place (in a cage). It means that the word “here” in that utterance has psychological distance.
c) Temporal deixis
Temporal deixis is a form gift to span of time which is meant by the speaker in the conversation. The words of temporal deixis are; “now”, “then”, “yesterday”, “tomorrow”, “tonight”, “last week”, “next week”, and “this week”. The meaning of temporal deixis expressions depend on the speaker’s or the hearer’s interpretation.
The expressions of temporal deixis are as follows:
November 2nd, 2005? I was in Scotland then. (“then” refers to past form)
Dinner at 8:30 on Saturday? Okay, I’ll see you then (“then” refers to future form)
From the utterance above, the word “then” have a time distance. The word “then” in the first sentence includes past event, and the second sentence include in future event.
3. The correlation deixis and grammar
All the kinds of deixis as, person, spatial, and temporal deixis can be used or understood in the rules to make the sentence in English language in correct grammar. As when, we will write or utter direct or in direct sentence. Understand meaning of deixis word is very important so that the sentence can be formed in correct grammar.
The examples are as follows:
Are you planning to be here this evening?
I asked her if she was planning to be there that evening.
The first sentence is direct form, and the second sentence is indirect sentence from the first sentence. Those sentence use deixis expressions. If the words deixis doesn’t appropriate with the rule in correct grammar, the sentence will be wrong sentence, and make misunderstanding.
CHAPTER III
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
Deixis can be meant the contextual information in lexical or grammatical which indicate something or the certain things such as, thing, place, and time. Its words are “he”, “here”, and “now”. Those dexis is divided in three terms, they are person deixis, spatial deixis, and temporal deixis.
The tense have correlations with deixis term. It can be explained as when we say direct or indirect sentence, there are the rules of using deictic. It means as when we will say direct sentence into indirect sentence, there are deictic must be changed so that the sentence is correct and can be understood well.
In conclusion, using deixis is very important to be understood so that we don’t get misunderstanding when we are getting the conversation especially in English.
The tense have correlations with deixis term. It can be explained as when we say direct or indirect sentence, there are the rules of using deictic. It means as when we will say direct sentence into indirect sentence, there are deictic must be changed so that the sentence is correct and can be understood well.
In conclusion, using deixis is very important to be understood so that we don’t get misunderstanding when we are getting the conversation especially in English.
THE REFERENCES
George Joule, the book which is given by Mr. Taufik
www.google.com http:\\pragmatics deixis\deiksis-dalam-kajian-pragmatik1.htm
The paper from the first group that explain about definition and background of pragmatics
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