The Chinese pronoun zan and its person and social deictic features
汉语代词“咱”及其人称与社会指示特征
He-ping Zhao 赵和平

Abstract 摘要
This paper presents a study of the word zan, a pronominal item in Mandarin Chinese, by analyzing its person and social deictic properties. A word with its own unique functions irreplaceable by other seemingly equivalent proforms, zan demonstrates three sets of person deictic features: /+S, +An, ±On/, /-S, +An, -O/ and /+S, -A, -O/. These features, in turn, are used in various discourse contexts in accordance with the varying social distinctions. Intimacy, resentment and informality are some of the social deictic features that zan readily marks in conversation. Though a pronoun seldom used in formal written Chinese, zan enjoys vast popularity in the language’s spoken form and thrives on its rich deictic values.

本文通过对“咱”这一汉语代词的人称指示特征及社会指示特征的分析，就该词作了一些阐述。这个词所具备的许多独有的功能是不能为其近义词或同义词所取代的。以人称的角度来讲，它有三组指示特征：[ +S, +An, ± On], [–S, +An, –O] 及 [+S, –A, –O]。这三组人称指示特征可以被灵活地运用于不同的语言交际场合，用来表明不断变化的社会语气：如亲昵语气，不满语气，非正式语气等。虽然“咱”很少出现于书面语，但被广泛地使用于汉语的口语中。由于其丰富的指示功能，该词享有很强的活力。

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