The Sociopragmatic Mechanism for the Referential Usages of “Renjia”

The use of language is a comprehensive assessment, selection and decision-making process. A single and one-sided perspective cannot satisfactorily explain the sociopragmatic factors on which speakers rely when using the referential word “Renjia”. “Renjia” evolved from a noun to a pronoun and gradually gained the uses of general reference and specific reference. Influenced by social, psychological, cognitive and other multi-level factors, “Renjia” has a variety of referential, as well as perspective shifting possibilities, which testifies that “Renjia” becomes an important language item that foreign students frequently make errors in when learning Chinese. Along with the discussion of the referential usages of “Renjia”, this paper analyzes the sociopragmatic mechanism for the referential usage of “Renjia” from the perspectives of its rhetorical function, sociolinguistic factors, pragmatic factors, cognitive factors, among others, and points out that the speaker chooses to use “Renjia”, in line with their conversational intention, to achieve specific pragmatic communication purposes and certain rhetorical effects by taking into account the socio-psychological factors in communication in the actual context. Choosing to use “Renjia” is a conscious goal-oriented language manipulation. When it comes to Chinese language teaching, this paper suggests that students’ existing module knowledge should be fully explored and activated. Language communication activities should be designed according to students’ level and receptivity, so as to help them master its grammatical functions, commendatory and derogatory colours, stylistic colours, and so on. At the primary stage, rules should be explained in a concise manner, and students should be encouraged to practice as much as possible. In the middle and advanced stages, students should be exposed to learning and practice its self-referential usage.