The deixis system in Tharu and English language: A comparative study

Abstract

The present study entitled "The Deixis System in Tharu and English Language: A Comparative Study" carried out in order to find out the similarities and differences between English and Tharu deictic expressions. The study also suggests some pedagogical implications which will be useful while teaching deictical expression to Tharu learners of English and vice versa. The researcher utilized both primary and secondary data to complete the study. The primary data were collected from native speakers of Tharu, who were selected by judgmental sampling procedure. The interview questions were adopted as a research tool to elicit primary data from both literate and illiterate informants. Then the data were analyzed, interpreted and presented descriptively as well as statistically by using table, charts and illustrations. The major findings of the study show that Tharu person deictic pronouns are more in number than those of English in terms of honorific distinction, number, case, gender and Tharu Deictic personal pronouns have suffixation in plural number unlike in English. The study also shows that English has some tense specific time deixis which is not the case with Tharu. Tharu time deixis is richer than that of English in terms of the names of days and year. This thesis consists of four chapters. The first chapter deals with the introduction of the study which includes general background, literature review, objectives, significance of the study. It also includes the definition of the specific terms used in the research. The second chapter deals with the methodological processes of the study which consist of source of data, sampling procedure, tools for collecting data, process of data collection and limitations of the study. The third chapter is concerned with the presentation, analysis, interpretation of the collected data along with the comparison of similar and different cases between English and Tharu deixis. The fourth chapter presents findings as well as some pedagogical implications.