An Analysis Of The Subjectivity Of Deixis Within The Framework Of Ground Theory And Mental Space Theory

Deixis refers to "the function of personal and demonstrative pronouns,of tense and of a variety of other grammatical and lexical characteristics which relate utterances to the spatio-temporal coordinates of the speech act"(Lyons,1977:132).It refers to those words which are used to reflect the relationship between discourse and the corresponding context.Deixis,an essential and dispensable language phenomenon,is one of the most common concerned topics discussed by philosophers,linguists and psychologists.Subjectivity as an important intrinsic feature of deixis has been studied by scholars all the time.In recent years,the studies of the subjectivity of deixis are restricted to the definition,characteristics,subjectivity and subjectivization of deixis.However,few studies are carried on from the perspective of cognitive linguistics.This thesis attempts to study the subjectivity of deixis from the perspective of cognitive linguistics and aims to offer a new angle for research in order to explain the phenomena of deictic projection within the framework of Ground Theory:onstage and offstage and the Mental Space Theory.This thesis focuses on those deictic expressions in canonical usage from the academic works and papers by some linguists and scholars from abroad and home and sentences from the twelfth season of the American sitcom Big Bang Theory.Apart from it,this thesis selects some usual expressions from daily communication and the sitcom in order to analyze how to shift perspective by building a new space within the framework of Mental Space Theory.The thesis is composed of five chapters.Chapter 1 is the introduction which briefly summarizes the major findings and shortcomings of deixis by some linguists and scholars from abroad and home.It also points out the main problems left by the traditional studies of deixis and puts forward a new perspective for research within the framework of cognitive linguistics.Chapter 2 gives a brief introduction of the theory of deixis,the subjectivity of deixis,Mental Space Theory,and Ground Theory:Onstage and Offstage in order to lay the theoretical basis for analyzing the subjectivity of deixis.Chapter 3 applies Mental Spaces Theory into analyzing the phenomena of deictic projection and studies the way how the perspective of the speaker is adjusted.Chapter 4 analyzes the perspective of speaker in canonical situation within the framework of Ground Theory:Onstage and Offstage.Chapter 5 is the conclusion of the study which includes the main findings and limitations of the thesis and future suggestions for the further exploration.With an analysis of canonical usage of deixis,deictic projection and other phenomena,this thesis discusses the specific manifestation of the subjectivity of deixis,which is helpful for the speaker to know how to express his/her attitude,feeling and emotion through the subjectivity of deixis.Apart from it,the thesis reveals the nature of deixis.