| Identity Theory is actually no longer a newborn theory in western sociology. However, it is a brand-new perspective of sociolinguistic study. The central idea of Identity Theory is that the languages we use are actually controlled, or at least affected, by both ourselves and the situations we are in. In terms of identity study, two main topics of identity and social identity are often discussed simultaneously because of their impartibility and interdependency. Although Identity Theory is somewhat premature in sociolinguistic study, it has aroused more and more interests of linguists both abroad and at home during the past thirty years.The concept of Speech Acts originally stemmed from the analytic philosophy and then was extensively used in pragmatic studies. The essence of speech acts can be summarized as to be saying something is actually doing something. During the past decades of years, many studies conducted on illocutionary acts were put forward for the purposes of explaining human mind and behavior confined in the field of philosophy, or distinguishing literal meaning and actual act as pragmatic studies. The analyses of illocutionary acts from the perspective of identity are short of due attention.This thesis is designed as a qualitative study which aims to detect illocutionary acts from the perspective of Identity Theory to find out a brand-new way to approach the reasons why different illocutionary acts are chosen by speakers and also will offer the answer to the question of how illocutionary acts reflect speaker’s social identities. After analyzing the fourteen examples, this thesis arrives at two main conclusions i.e. P’u-Yi’s illocutionary acts change with the changes of identities and the illocutionary acts make it possible for reflecting his various social identities. Furthermore, with the examples of P’u-Yi’s lines in The Last Emperor, this study might be more understandable, more interesting and with, more or less, an added historical value. |
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