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Title Exploring the Pragmatic Functions of Deixis: A Case Study of Saraiki Speaking English Language Learners and Teachers

Author(s) Taskeen Raza

Abstract This study explores pragmatics, which is used to bridge linguistic structure to contextual meaning and investigates the deployment of deixis by Saraiki speakers learning their target language, that is, English. Deixis is a primary pragmatic element that is integral to successful communication, for failure to use it properly can cause communication ambiguity or breakdown. It uses the qualitative approach and utilises deictic practices of Saraiki-speaking students studying in the BS English program at the Gazi University, Dera Ghazi Khan, to discover their deictic practices. Multiple methods triangulated the data. I incorporate data gathered through semi-structured interviews with ten English department teachers, 5 teachers’ lectures that I observed in the classroom, and some recordings of informal interactions among 5 students. Collectively, these methods captured both formal and informal linguistic behaviours and an overall analysis of deictic usage across contexts. The transcribed data showed a strong reliance on personal deixis (1st and 2nd person pronouns) in academic interactions, with questions such as what role and what kind of relation the participants had with each other. For instance, spatial, temporal, social, and discourse deixis were used sparingly, suggesting a possible lacuna in learners’ contextual adaptation or awareness of these kinds of deixis. However, the results emphasise the relevance of pedagogical interventions that directly target deictic competence to equip learners to handle language use in a given context more proficiently. Furthermore, recommendations emphasise the collective responsibility of educators and students to cultivate metalinguistic awareness of deixis, and provide suggestions of immersive exercises that involve deixis within real-world communicative scenarios. Prioritising contextualised practice in practice reduces the likelihood of misleading practice and increases the accuracy of academic discourse in learners of the English language.

Type Thesis/Dissertation

Faculty Languages

Department English

Language English

Publication Date 2025-03-11

Subject English Linguistics

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