| Identity is closely related to the use of language.In our communication,people can choose and use language resources to construct a specific identity to achieve pragmatic function or ensure the realization of their own communicative purposes.Because context is dynamic,pragmatic identity is also dynamic.Pragmatic identity is a social identity in a certain context,and the speaker’s pragmatic identities are constructed according to the context.Also,these pragmatic identities can be used as pragmatic strategies or resources to achieve communicative purposes.Under the guidance of Verschueren’s Linguistic Adaptation Theory(1999)and also the definitions and classifications of pragmatic identity by Chen Xinren(2013,2018)and Yuan Zhoumin(2011),this paper takes Bill Gates’ speech at Peking University in 2017 as the research object,discussing the following two questions:(1)In the three worlds from the perspective of Adaptation Theory,what are the types of pragmatic identities constructed by the speaker?(2)What are the pragmatic functions of different pragmatic identities constructed by speakers? And what communicative purpose has been achieved?Through research,it is found that in this speech,the following eight pragmatic identities have been constructed by Bill Gates in adapting to three different worlds,namely,praiser identity,partner identity,fan identity of table tennis,philanthropist identity,proposer identity,expector identity,expert identity and entrepreneur identity.And there are four pragmatic functions of these pragmatic identities,that is,narrowing the psychological distance with the audience,providing suggestion,giving support,and expressing expectation.These pragmatic functions can enable the audience to agree with the speaker’s content psychologically,so that the audience can easily accept the speaker’s suggestions or expectations.And finally it can achieve the purpose of providing the persuasiveness and enhancing the credibility of the speech.In this study,the language material is based on the topic of speech.So combined with Linguistic Adaptation Theory,it discusses the reflection of different pragmatic identities in the speech.Therefore,this paper expands the scope of the study of pragmatic identity construction.Moreover,the pragmatic identity discussed in this paper is constructed by the speaker under different adaptation strategies,and it is also a pragmatic means for the speaker to express his views and feelings,so at last specific pragmatic functions are achieved.These functions help the speaker fulfill better communication purposes and better speech effects.Therefore,this study plays a positive practical guiding role for speakers to improve the effectiveness of their speeches. |
