An Adaptive Study On The Unconventional Use Of Person Deixis In The Scarlet Letter

Person deixis is indispensable to human communication and also an important component of pragmatic study. In conversation, it is used by an addresser to refer to himself or herself, the addressee, and the other persons who are mentioned. The use of person deixis is very complicated and flexible, which can be further classified into conventional use and unconventional use. Some researchers have made studies on the unconventional use of person deixis and achieved great achievements. However, their studies focus on distinguishing different kinds of meaning and functions, and the analysis of the phenomena of the unconventional use of person deixis by means of relative pragmatic principles. The properties of person deixis are not well identified, the purpose of the unconventional use of person deixis and the deep reasons for the unconventional use of person deixis are not explored.Based on Adaptation Theory, this thesis attempts to explore the properties of person deixis, the purpose of the unconventional use of person deixis and the deep reasons for the unconventional use of person deixis in The Scarlet Letter. The author analyzes how the use of person deixis adapts to mental world, social world and physical world. The adaptation to the mental world is analyzed from the perspective of face want (threatening face and saving face) and the reflection of emotions. The adaptation to the social world consists of three aspects:the social status, avoiding deadlock and the institutional power. The adaptation to the physical world analyzed based on the reference space, the facilitation of comprehension and the site of communication. Through analysis, the author finds that the purpose of the unconventional use of person deixis is to adapt to the communicative contexts. The deep reasons for the unconventional use of person deixis lie in the fact that the adaptive process is both salient and dynamic.The author hopes that the analysis of the unconventional use of person deixis in The Scarlet Letter will help people have a deeper understanding of person deixis and its unconventional use. Besides this, this study proves the explanatory power of Adaptation Theory.