Topic of Conversation Situation

4.2. Factors which Influence the Use of Person Deixis

As the writer analyzes the data, she finds that there are several factors which cause the host and the guests to use certain person deictic expressions. Those factors are the topic of conversation, the situation in which the speaker is speaking, the closeness and formality, the power, language habit of the speaker and the linguistic community, and the speaker’s purpose. Each of them will be described below.

4.2.1. Topic of Conversation

After the writer analyzes the talk show, she discovers that topic of conversation greatly influences the use of person deixis in Mata Najwa. The writer finds that the topic of the conversation in the talk show may be a serious topic and a non- serious or casual topic. When the topic of the conversation is serious, most speakers use person deictic expressions which are often considered formal. On the contrary, when the topic of conversation is not serious or it is even casual, the speakers tend to use expressions which show familiarity and which are not formal. This can be seen from some dialogues, for example, 1 and 2. When the topic is regarding serious matter, the expression ‘Saya’ is used to point to the speaker. However, when the topic is about something casual, the expression ‘Aku’ is the one which is used to point to the speaker. The similar things may also be shown by examples 3, 4, 9, 10, and 11. Those dialogues show that the topic of conversation can influence the person deixis.

4.2.2. Situation

Situation is another issue that can influence the person deixis choice in the talk show. The writer finds that the situation when the host and the guests are speaking is able to determine the person deictic expressions used by them. After observing the four episodes of Mata Najwa, the writer finds that the situation in which the speakers are speaking may be semiformal, informal casual, tense, and relaxed. Of course, because the talk show itself tends to have semiformal situation, the informal or casual situation in Mata Najwa is a rare case. The way situation can influence the use of person deixis is shown, for example, by the example 18. In that utterance, the speaker uses ‘Beliau’ even though the person being pointed to has less power than her because she is in semiformal situation when she is speaking. That is because a speaker is expected to use person deixis in a particular situation. Similarly, when the situation is informal or casual, the speakers use expression such as ‘Aku’ and ‘Kamu’ as in dialogues 2 and 11. In other words, the situation in which the speakers are having conversation cause them to use or choose a certain person deictic expression.

4.2.3. Closeness or Solidarity and Formality