The Comparative Study Between"Ni/Nin"in Chinese And "Tu/Vous" In French Based On "Power And Solidarity"

The personal pronoun is the indispensable and essential component in all languages. In modern standard Chinese, the second person pronouns encompass two variations:"Ni" and "Nin"."Ni" is a generic term while "Nin" is the honorific term, in French there are also two variations for the second person pronouns:the informal term "Tu" and the formal term "Vous". In the specific speech environment the speakers choose different second person pronouns, it indicates the relationship between two interlocutors as well as the attitude which the speaker conveys to the listener.Both in Chinese and French it exist the power and solidarity relations in communicative activities, the position and authority principle in the personal pronoun’s use mainly manifests in domain of the second person pronouns. Although "Ni" and "Nin" as well as "Tu" and "Vous" belong to the identical deixis domain, both of their symbolic meanings are "second person pronouns", there are pragmatic and deixis distinctions between these two terms. This paper, based on the theory of "Power and Solidarity", mainly explores "Ni" and "Nin" as well as "Tu" and "Vous" from the sociolinguistic, cultural and pragmatic perspectives.Through the comparative study of the two pairs of second person pronouns, not only could we respectively sum up the historical evolvements of "Ni" and "Nin" as well as "Tu" and "Vous", and analyze the cultural differences between China and France which hide behind two languages, but also may further expound the pragmatic and deixis variations of the two pairs of second person pronouns in distinct speech environment and pragmatic requirements. By comparatively analyzing the similarities and dissimilarities of the two pairs of second person pronouns, we could extend our comprehension to the second person pronouns, deepen our understanding of the Chinese and French culture, and remove some misunderstandings in Chinese and French translation, moreover facilitate the intercultural exchanges between China and France.