A Social Deixis in Webtoon Omniscient Reader from 2020-2024: A Pragmatic Analysis

Abstrak

Social deixis played an important role in understanding the dynamics of communication, as it not only reflected the social relationships among speakers, recipients, and observers but also shaped the way individuals perceive and interacted with one another. This research employed Levinson's theory (1983) to identify types of social deixis in the webtoon and used Huang's theory (2014) to examine the functions of social deixis. The object of this study was the webtoon Omniscient Reader. The research method used was descriptive qualitative to analyze the data. This study produced 30 data points divided into two sections: types of social deixis and functions of social deixis. First, the types of social deixis are divided into two categories: relational social deixis and absolute social deixis. Relational social deixis included Speaker and Referent (Referent Honorifics) with 4 data points; Speaker and Addressee (Addressee Honorifics) with 6 data points; Speaker and Bystander (Bystander or Audience Honorifics) with 1 data point; and Speaker and Setting (level of formality or social activity) with 3 data points. Additionally, absolute social deixis consists of 5 data points for Authorized Speaker and 4 data points for Authorized Recipient. Furthermore, the research yielded 7 data points regarding functions. These included 1 data point that signaled higher social status and distance between speaker and addressee; 3 data points that show respect to strangers; and 3 data points that claim in-group solidarity. Understanding social deixis involved studying the ways in which respect, politeness, and social status differences between the speaker and the listener were conveyed through the use of titles or forms of address. Context is crucial for comprehending the intended meaning of social deixis and for preventing misunderstandings when referring to titles or forms of address with interlocutors