10
Deixis makes the reader or hearer have to broaden the limitation of mind. As Yule explains that two referents, proximal near from the speaker
and distal far from the speaker influence the deixis context. When the context words such as this, here, now, that, there, and then appear, the
addressee has to think twice where the location of the speaker. For example, there is a statement that room, and then the addressee has to figure out where
the room is and which is meant by the speaker. So, the context does not just depend on distal or proximal perception of the speaker, but it also uses the
hearer‘s logic.
18
The function of deixis is to point or indicate something. Then, this function creates something or someone to be the referent. Many
referents are created by deixis. Levinson mentions three the traditional categories of deixis are person,
place and time.
19
In addition to the three types, Lyson and Fillmore add two types of deixis, there are discourse or text deixis and social deixis.
1. Person Deixis.
Person deixis is about who involves in the speech event or in the text. The reader or the listener has to know who the referent is; otherwise,
he can not give an appropriate perception. Moreover, the concept of context also takes the role of person deixis.
The basic concept of person deixis is based on person. Levinson says there are three categories of person deixis. They are first person,
18
George Yule, Pragmatics, New York: Oxford University Press, 1996, p.9
19
Nadar, op.cit, p. 55
11
second person, and third person.
20
According to Verhaar, person deixis that can be con
sidered as ‗trully‘ deictic are personal pronoun, first and second person pronoun.
21
However, as stated by Burling and Ingram in Levinson, pronominal systems also can be considered deictic. Those pronominal
systems are as follows: for first person, speaker inclusion + S; for second person, addressee inclusion + A; and for third person, speaker and
addressee exclusion – S, – A. Besides, in many languages, there are two
first person pronouns plural known as exclusive and inclusive ‗we‘. As the term, exclusive ‗we‘ includes speaker and other, but excludes the
addressee +S, –A, whereas inclusive ‗we‘ includes speaker, other and
addressee or +S, +A. Let‘s take a look at the example below: Let‘s go to the cinema
Let‘s go to see you tomorrow ? The first sentence is inclusive as it includes the addressee, while
the second one is exclusive as it excludes the addressee. In the fact that - „s
in the word ―let‟s” stands for „us‟, it may be inappropriate for the second sentence because the word
„us‟ is considered inclusive while the second sentence is exclusive as it also mentions the pronoun ‗you‘.
22
20
Levinson, 1983 Op.cit, p.69
21
J. W. M. Verhaar. Asas-Asas Linguistik Umum. Yogyakarta:Gadjah Mada University, 1996 p. 69
22
Levinson, op.cit, p. 69
