The Concepts of Deictic Shift Theory and Discourse Theory of Silencing

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the concepts of the deictic shift theory and discourse theory of silencing. It has been written on the basis of synchronic descriptive method in the study of the English language. For this purpose we wish to introduce a theoretical framework for the study and then we hope to present the deictic shift theory and discourse theory of silencing, to show the development of a set of questions that any reader may use to evaluate a work of fiction. It is noted in the article that while using the language in the narrative, these questions help to guide the reader to determine the context of the narrative. These questions also help the reader to determine the narrator’s point of view, his strategy for silencing characters, and discover which characters in the narrative have been silenced. It is stated in the article that deixis depends on context, situation, and relationship within a narrative and Deictic Shift Theory is a set of premises about readers and stories that grew out of research on the function of deixis in fictional narratives. The article also covers discussion of linguistic views of scientists in this field.