Abstract:The term deixis, originating in Greek, is one of the most fundamental branches of pragmatics. Deixis can be divided into five categories: person deixis, place deixis, time deixis, discourse deixis and social deixis. Among these, social deixis can reflect the social status of participants, indicate the social relationship between them and project different cultures. A Dream of Red Mansions, one of the great classical novels in ancient China, contains a rich source of social deixis. This thesis aims to study the English translation of social deixis from the perspective of adaptation theory. Firstly, previous studies on social deixis will be introduced in detail, and the necessity and significance of this thesis will be pointed out. Secondly, the adaptation theory which the study is based on will be introduced. Thirdly, the examples extracted from the two English versions will be analyzed in the light of adaptation theory. Finally, I will draw a conclusion to this study.

Keywords:  adaptation theory  social deixis  A Dream of Red Mansions  translation

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Literature Review-1

1.2 The Significance of the Thesis-1

1.3 The Structure of the Thesis-1

Chapter Two An Overview on Social Deixis and Adaptation Theory-2

2.1 The Definition of Social Deixis-2

2.2 The Classification of Social Deixis-2

2.3 Introduction of Adaptation Theory-3

2.4 Four Aspects of Pragmatic Study-3

Chapter Three Application of Adaptation Theory to Social Deixis Translation in A Dream of Red Mansions-5

3.1 Contextual Correlates of Adaptability and Social Deixis Translation-5

3.2 Structural Objects of Adaptability and Social Deixis Translation-6

3.3 Dynamics of Adaptability and Social Deixis Translation-7

3.4 Salience of Adaptation Processes and Social Deixis Translation-9

Chapter Four Conclusion-11

References-12