Pragmatic Study of Person Dexis in the Speeches of Chinese and American Leaders: Taking Xi Jinping’s and Donald Trump’s Speeches as Example

Haiyun Zhao

doi:10.62051/ijsspa.v3n1.30

Authors

Haiyun Zhao

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62051/ijsspa.v3n1.30

Keywords:

Person Dexis, Interpersonal Connotations, Pragmatic Purposes, Xi Jinping’s Speeches, Trump’s Speeches

Abstract

Language not only conveys information, but also reveals information about the speaker’s identity, social status and behavioral motives. This paper focuses on how person dexis in the speeches of Chinese and U.S. leaders convey interpersonal connotations and realize pragmatic purposes. The selected texts are analyzed from the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistics according to the first, second and third person dexis. The paper is based on a corpus of 11 speeches delivered by President Xi and former U.S. President Donald Trump, in which the frequency of person dexis and the characteristics of the use are recorded. The study is conducive to have a clearer understanding of the interpersonal meanings and pragmatic purposes of different person dexis and the underlying conceptual and cultural factors influencing the usage.

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