1

AN ANALYSIS ON THE USE OF DEIXIS IN THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE RAINBOW

TROOPS NOVEL: TEN NEW STUDENTS BY ANDREA HIRATA (2009)

I. Background of the Study

Language is a part of human’s life because it functions as an instrument for communication
with each other. Language is more than a symbol. By using language, people can communicate with
each other for many purposes. The existence of language in a human community is a natural
phenomenon. It can be used either written or spoken.
One of the subjects that learn about language that can help human in using it is pragmatics. In
linguistics field, pragmatics is the study of those context-dependent aspects of meaning which are
systematically abstracted away from in the construction of content or logical form. In other words,
pragmatics is the study of contextual meaning. Therefore there must be a relationship between
language and the context.
The most obvious way to reflect the relationship between language and context is through
deixis. Deixis is derived from the Greek word means pointing. There is no a language event without
deixis or without any deictic expressions. A language event without such terms could not serve the
communicative needs of its users anything like as well as a real human language.
In this mini research, I would like to analyze a novel. I chose to analyze a novel because in a
novel there must be a context that surrounds the language. Moreover, in the context and the language
there must be deixis between them to make the novel cohesive, coherent and acceptable for the
reader. Therefore, a novel is a good material to be analyzed in finding the deixis.
There are many novels that are under my consideration. However, finally I decided to analyze
an Indonesian novel entitled “Laskar Pelangi” (The Rainbow Troops) written by Andrea Hirata
which had been translated in English by Angie Kilbane. My personal interest is also influenced my
consideration in picking the novel as my object of research. The Rainbow Troops is a best seller
novel which is sold more than 5 million copies. It also Indonesia’s most powerful book which tell us
a story that reflects an education discrimination in a rural area of Indonesia.
The Rainbow Troops novel, set on Belitong Island, Indonesia, tells the story of a tight-knit
group of students and their teachers fighting for education and dignity, even as as they face continual
hardship. Fabulously rich in natural resources, Belitong is also home to chronic poverty and
educational discrimination. This amazing story tells of a persistent young teacher and her tireless
efforts to fight for her ten students’ right to an education. Together, they take the reader on a journey
through the beauty of childhood friendship, the inspiration of love, and the power of education. The
students’ magnetic personalities and unflagging determination are sure to inspire.
Based on some elaborations above, I can conclude that the use of deixis in The Rainbow
Troops novel written by Andrea Hirata in 2009 need to be analyzed in the term of what types of
deixis used in the novel and what the dominant type of deixes used in the novel.

II. Limitation of the Study

There are 48 chapters in The Rainbow Troops novel. Therefore, I only choose one chapter to
be analyzed in this mini research. I have several considerations in choosing the first chapter of this
novel including it represents the setting of the story; it also describes clearly the background of the
story and it explains the main characters in the story as well.

III. Statement of the Problem

Based on the background of the study above, the problems are formulated as follows:
a. What are the deixis used in the first chapter of The Rainbow Troops Novel: Ten New Students
By Andrea Hirata?
 2

b. What is the dominant deixis used in the first chapter of The Rainbow Troops Novel: Ten New
Students By Andrea Hirata?

IV. Review of Literature

A. The Defenition of Deixis
The most obvious way to reflect the relationship between the structure of languages and
contexts is through deixis. Deixis cannot be fully understood without the additional contextual
information. The term deixis refers to a class of linguistic expressions that are used to indicate
elements of the situational context, including the speech participants, the time and location of the
current speech event (Lyons, 1977).
B. Types of Deixis
Levinson (1983) devides five types of deixis as follows:
1. Person Deixis
Person deixis refers to the encoding of the participants’ role in the speech event such as
speaker, addressee, and others/hearer, in which the utterance in question is delivered. Based on
grammatical distinction, there are three categories, namely first person, second person and third
person. First person is speaker’s reference to him/herself; second person is speaker’s reference to
addressees; and third person is speaker’s reference to neither the speaker nor the addressees.
Person deixis is encoded in the form of pronouns which can be seen in the table below:
Category Pronoun
Singular Plural
First I, me, my, mine we,us,our,ours
Second you, your, yours you, your, yours
Third he, him, his, she, her, hers, they, them, their, theirs

The use of person deixis can be seen in the example below:

e.g. “Do you know? I was nearly dead yesterday! Luckily, he saved me”

I & me : 1st person

You : 2nd person
He : 3rd person
2. Time Deixis
Levinson stated that time deixis deals with the encoding at temporal points of the spoken
or written message. It is usually grammaticalized in deictic adverbs of time, such as now, then,
this week, this afternoon, yesterday, today, and many more. In other words, time deixis refers to
an expression that point to certain period when the utterances produced by the speaker.
The examples of the time deixis can be seen as follows:
- This year will be a great year.
- Yesterday, they came to my house.

3. Place Deixis
Place deixis deals with the encoding of special locations relative to the interlocutors in
speech event. It depends on where the words uttered. It is grammaticalized in adverbs of place
such as “this (Plural: these) and here” for something near or close to the speaker, and “that
(plural: those) and there” for something distal or close to the addressee. In the other words, place
deixis is an expression used to show the location relative to the location of a participant in the
speech event.
The examples of place deixis can be seen as follows:
- Josh is there.
- I am here for you
 3

4. Discourse Deixis
Discourse deixis encodes reference to portions of the unfolding discourse in which the
utterance is located (Levinson, 1983: 62). In other words, discourse deixis is an expression used
to refer to certain discourse that contains the utterance or as a signal and its relations to
surrounding text. The deictic terms used by this deixis are “this” that refers to a forthcoming
portion and “that” to a preceding portion.
The examples of Discourse Deixis can be seen as follows:
- I know you’ve already known that.
- This is important, remember it!
5. Social Deixis
Social deixis differs from the other 4 deixis. It does not refer to the time, place, or person,
but it more refers to the social ranking between the speaker and the addressee in the society using
language. Levinson stated that social deixis deals with the encoding of social distinctions between
speaker and addressee or speaker and some referents. In the other words, social deixis is an
expression used to distinct social status.
Levinson adds that there are two basic kinds of social deixis, they are: Relational social
deixis and Absolute social deixis. Relational social deixis refers to some social characteristic of
referent apart from deictic reference to a social relationship between the speaker and addressee.
For example are lexical items (e.g. my husband, teacher, cousin, etc) and pronouns (you, her).
Absolute social deixis refers to a deictic reference including no comparison of the ranking of the
speaker and addressee. For examples: your highness, Mr. President, your majesty, etc.
The examples of social deixis can be seen as follows:
- Good day, Mommy
- Thank you, Sir

V. Research Method
 4

The object of this research was the first chapter of The Rainbow Troops Novel: Ten New
Students written by Andrea Hirata in 2009. That novel will be analyzed to find the deixis or deictic
word used in the first chapter. Later on the deixis will be classified based on each category (person,
time, place, discourse and social). After being classified, the deixis of each category will be calculated
to find what type of deixis which is dominant used in the novel. Therefore, this analysis was
considered as a descriptive work, using mixed methods of quantitative and qualitative approaches.

VI. Findings and Interpretation

1. Person Deixis used in the first chapter of The Rainbow Troops Novel: Ten New Students by
Andrea Hirata
No. Realizations Deictic Referent
(clause/sentence/paragraph) words

1. THAT morning , when I was just a boy, I sat on a long bench I The writer
outside of a school. The branch of an old filicium My
tree shaded me. My father sat beside me, hugging my Me
shoulders with both of his arms as he nodded and smiled to each His The writer’s father
parent and child sitting side by side on the bench in front of us. He
It was an important day: the first day of elementary school. Us The writer and his
father
2. There was an old man with a patient face, Bapak K.A. Harfan My The writer’s father
Efendy Noor, or Pak Harfan—the school principal—and a They Bapak K.A. Harfan
young woman wearing a jilbab, or headscarf, Ibu N.A. Efendy Noor (Pak
Muslimah Hafsari, or Bu Mus for short. Like my father, they Harfan) and Ibu
also were smiling. N.A.
Muslimah Hafsari,
(Bu Mus)
3. Yet Bu Mus’ smile was a forced smile: she was She Bu Mus
apprehensive. Her face was tense and twitching nervously. Her
She kept counting the number of children sitting on the Our The writer and Bu
long benches, so worried that she didn’t even care about Mus
the sweat pouring down onto her eyelids. The sweat
beading around her nose smudged her powder makeup,
streaking her face and making her look like the queen’s servant
in Dul Muluk, an ancient play in our village.
4. “Nine people, just nine people, Pamanda Guru, still short one,” She Bu Mus
she said anxiously to the principal. Pak Harfan stared at her Her
with an empty look in his eyes. His Pak Harfan
5. I too felt anxious. Anxious because of the restless Bu Mus, and I The writer
because of the sensation of my father’s burden spreading over My
my entire body. Although he seemed friendly and at ease this Me
morning, his rough arm hanging around my neck gave away his He The writer’s father
quick heartbeat. I knew he was nervous, and I was aware that it His
wasn’t easy for a 47-year-old miner with a lot of children and a Our The writer and his
small salary to send his son to school. It would have been much father
easier to send me to work as a helper for a Chinese grocery stall
owner at the morning market, or to the coast to work as a coolie
to help ease the family’s financial burdens. Sending a child
to school meant tying oneself to years of costs, and that was no
easy matter for our family.
 5

6. My poor father. My The writer

I didn’t have the heart to look him in the eye. I
It would probably be better if I just went home, forgot Him The writer’s father
about school, followed in the footsteps of some of my older
brothers and cousins, and became a coolie …
7. My father wasn’t the only one trembling. The face of each My The writer
parent showed that they weren’t really sitting on those long They The students’
benches. Their thoughts, like my father’s, were drifting off to Their parents
the morning market as they imagined their sons better off as These
workers. These parents weren’t convinced that their children’s
education, which they could only afford up to junior high,
would brighten their families’ futures. This morning they were
forced to be at this school, either to avoid reproach from
government officials for not sending their children to school, or
to submit to modern demands to free their children from
illiteracy.
8. I knew all of the parents and children sitting in front of me— I The writer
except for one small, dirty boy with curly, red hair, trying to Me
wriggle free from his father’s grasp. His father wasn’t wearing His The small, dirty boy
shoes and had on cheap, cotton pants. I didn’t know them. with curly, red hair
Them The small, dirty boy
with curly, red hair
and his father
9. The rest of them were my good friends. Like Trapani sitting on Them The other students
his mother’s lap, or Kucai sitting next to his father, or Sahara, except the small,
who earlier had gotten very angry at her mother because she dirty boy with
wanted to go into the classroom quickly, or Syahdan, who curly, red hair
wasn’t accompanied by anyone. We were neighbors, and we My The writer
were Belitong-Malays from the poorest community on the His Trapani
island. As for this school, Muhammadiyah Elementary School, it His Kucai
too was the poorest village school in Belitong. There were only Her Sahara
three reasons why parents enrolled their children here. The first, She
Muhammadiyah Elementary didn’t require any fees, and We The writer and the
parents could contribute whatever they could afford whenever other students with
they could do so. The second, the parents feared that their their parents except
children had weak character and could easily be led astray by the small, dirty boy
the Devil, so they wanted them to have strong Islamic with curly, red hair
guidance from a young age. The third, their child wasn’t Their The students’
accepted at any other school. They parents
Them
10. Bu Mus, who was growing increasingly fretful, stared at the Her Bu Mus
main road, hoping there would still be another new student. Us The students
Seeing her empty hope scared us. So unlike other elementary Their Bu Mus and the
schools that were full of happiness when welcoming the students students
of their newest class, the atmosphere on the first day at
Muhammadiyah Elementary School was full of concern, and the
most concerned of all were Bu Mus and Pak Harfan.
11. Those humble teachers were in this nerve-wracking situation Those Bu Mus and Pak
because of a warning issued by the School Superintendent from Harfan
the South Sumatra Department of Education and Culture: If We The writer and the
 6

Muhammadiyah Elementary School had fewer than ten new other students
students, then the oldest school in Belitong would be shut down.
Therefore Bu Mus and Pak Harfan were worried about being
shut down, while the parents were worried about expenses, and
we—the nine small children caught in the middle—were
worried we may not get to go to school at all.
12. Pak Harfan was pessimistic that they would meet the target of They The teacher (Bu
ten this year, so he secretly prepared a school-closing speech. Mus and Pak
Harfan)
He Pak Harfan
13. “We will wait until eleven o’clock,” Pak Harfan said to Bu Mus We Bu Mus and Pak
and the already hopeless parents. Harfan and the
students’ parents
14. Bu Mus’ face was puffy from holding back tears. I I The writer
understood how she felt, because her hope to teach was as great She Bu Mus
as our hope to go to school. Today was Bu Mus’ first day as a Her
teacher, a moment she had been dreaming of for a very long Our The writer and the
time. She had just graduated the week before from Sekolah other students
Kepandaian Putri (Vocational Girls’ School), a junior high They The school
school in the capital of the regency, Tanjong Pandan. She was
only fifteen years old. Sadly, her fiery spirit to be a teacher was
about to be doused by a bitter reality—the threat of her school
closing because they were short by just one student.
15. In the meantime, the parents probably took the shortage of one Their The students’
student as a sign for their children—it would be better if they They parents
sent them to work. The other children and I felt heartbroken: Them
heartbroken to face our disadvantaged parents, heartbroken to I The writer
witness the final moments before the old school closed on the Our The writer and the
very day we were supposed to start, and heartbroken to know We other students
that our strong desire to study would be crushed just because we
were lacking one student. Our heads hung low.
16. Bu Mus could no longer hide her dejection. Her big dreams for Her Bu Mus
this poor school were about to fall apart before they could even They The school
take off,
17. “Just nine people Pamanda Guru,” Bu Mus uttered shakily once She Bu Mus
again. She had already reached the point where she wasn’t Her
thinking clearly, repeating the same thing everyone already
knew. Her voice was grave, normal for someone with a sinking
heart.
18. My overwhelming enthusiasm for school dwindled away. I took My The writer
my father’s arms off of my shoulders. Sahara sobbed in her I
mother’s embrace because she really wanted to go Her Sahara
to Muhammadiyah Elementary School. She wore socks She
and shoes, a jilbab, a blouse, and she also had books, a
water bottle and a backpack—all were new.
19. Pak Harfan went up to the parents and greeted them one by one. Them The student’s
It was devastating. The parents patted him on the back to parents
console him, and Bu Mus’ eyes glistened as they filled to the Him Pak Harfan
brim with tears. Pak Harfan stood in front of the parents. He He
looked devastated as he prepared to give his final speech. His
 7

However, when he went to utter his first words, ‘Assalamu’-

alaikum, Peace be upon you’, Trapani yelled and pointed to the
edge of the schoolyard, startling everyone.
20. Immediately, we all turned to look, and off in the distance was a We The writer, the
tall, skinny boy, clumsily headed our way. His clothes and other students, the
hairstyle were very neat. He wore a longsleeved white shirt Our students’ parents
tucked into his shorts. His knees knocked together when he and the teachers
moved, forming an x as his body wobbled along. A plump,
His Harun
middle-aged woman was trying with great difficulty to hold onto
He
him. That boy was Harun, a funny boy and a good friend of
Him
ours. He was already 15 years old, the same age as Bu Mus, but
was a bit behind mentally. He was extremely happy and moving That
quickly, half running, as if he couldn’t wait to get to us. He paid Ours The writer and the
no attention to his mother, who stumbled after him, trying to Us other students
hold onto his hand.
21. They were both nearly out of breath when they arrived in front They Harun and his
of Pak Harfan. mother
22. “Bapak Guru,” said his mother, gasping for breath. “Please His Harun
accept Harun. The Special Needs School is all the way on Him
Bangka Island. We don’t have the money to send him there.” We Harun and his
mother
23. Harun folded his arms over his chest, beaming happily. His His Harun
mother continued.
24. “And more importantly, it’s better that he’s here at this school He Harun
rather than at home, where he just chases my chicks around. My Harun’s mother
25. Harun smiled widely, showing his long, yellow teeth. His Harun
He Pak Harfan
Pak Harfan was smiling too. He looked over to Bu Mus and
shrugged his shoulders.

“It makes ten,” he said.

26. Harun had saved us! We clapped and cheered. Sahara, who Us The writer, the
couldn’t sit any longer, stood up straight to fix the folds on her We other students, the
jilbab and firmly threw on her backpack. Bu Mus blushed. The students’ parents
young teacher’s tears subsided, and she wiped the sweat from and the teachers
her powder-smudged face. Her Sahara
She Bu Mus
her

2. Time Deixis used in the first chapter of The Rainbow Troops Novel: Ten New Students by
Andrea Hirata
No. Realizations Deictic Referent
(clause/sentence/paragraph) words

1. THAT morning, when I was just a boy, I sat on a long bench That The morning when
outside of a school. the utterance used.
2. Although he seemed friendly and at ease this morning, his rough This The morning when
arm hanging around my neck gave away his quick heartbeat. the utterance used.
3. This morning they were forced to be at this school, either This The morning when
 8

to avoid reproach from government officials for not sending their the utterance used.
children to school, or to submit to modern demands to free their
children from illiteracy.
4. Last year Muhammadiyah Elementary School only had eleven Last A year before the
students. year utterance used.
5. Today was Bu Mus’ first day as a teacher, a moment she had Today The day when the
been dreaming of for a very long time. She had just graduated utterance used.
the week before from Sekolah Kepandaian Putri (Vocational The A week before the
Girls’ School), a junior high school in the capital of the regency, week utterance used.
Tanjong Pandan. before

3. Place Deixis used in the first chapter of The Rainbow Troops Novel: Ten New Students by
Andrea Hirata
No. Realizations Deictic Referent
(clause/sentence/paragraph) words

1. At the end of those long benches was an open door, and inside Those The long benches
was an empty classroom.
2. In the doorway stood two teachers, like hosts welcoming guests There The doorway
to a party. There was an old man with a patient face,
3. The face of each parent showed that they weren’t really sitting Those The long benches
on those long benches.
4. This morning they were forced to be at this school, either This
to avoid reproach from government officials for not The school in the
sending their children to school, or to submit to modern story
demands to free their children from illiteracy. (Muhammadiyah
Elementary School)
5. We were neighbors, and we were Belitong-Malays from the This The school in the
poorest community on the island. As for this school, Here story
Muhammadiyah Elementary School, it too was the poorest (Muhammadiyah
village school in Belitong. There were only three reasons why Elementary School)
parents enrolled their children here.
6. Bu Mus, who was growing increasingly fretful, stared at the There The main road
main road, hoping there would still be another new student.
7. “Bapak Guru,” said his mother, gasping for breath. “Please There The Special Needs
accept Harun. The Special Needs School is all the way on School
Bangka Island. We don’t have the money to send him there.”
8. “And more importantly, it’s better that he’s here at this school Here The school in the
rather than at home, where he just chases my chicks around.” This story
(Muhammadiyah
Elementary School)

4. Discourse Deixis used in the first chapter of The Rainbow Troops Novel: Ten New Students by
Andrea Hirata
No. Realizations Deictic Referent
(clause/sentence/paragraph) words

1. It was an important day: the first day of elementary It an important day: the first day
school. of elementary school.

2. The entire school, in fact, leaned as if it
would collapse at any moment. In the doorway
stood two teachers, like hosts welcoming guests to
a party.
3. I knew he was nervous, and I was aware that it
wasn’t easy for a 47-year-old miner with a lot of
children and a small salary to send his son to
school.
4. It would have been much easier to send me to
work as a helper for a Chinese grocery stall owner
at the morning market, or to the coast to work as a
coolie to help ease the family’s financial burdens.
5. It would probably be better if I just went home,
forgot about school, followed in the footsteps of
some of my older brothers and cousins, and
became a coolie …
6. Those humble teachers were in this nerve-
wracking situation because of a warning issued by
the School Superintendent from the South Sumatra
Department of Education and Culture:
7. The fact that he only needed one more student
would make this speech even more painful to give.
8. Sahara sobbed in her mother’s embrace because
she really wanted to go to Muhammadiyah
Elementary School. She wore socks and shoes, a
jilbab, a blouse, and she also had books, a
water bottle and a backpack—all were new.
5. Social Deixis used in the first chapter of The Rainbow Troops Novel: Ten New Students by
Andrea Hirata
No. Realizations Deictic words
(clause/sentence/paragraph)
1. There was an old man with a patient Bapak K.A.
face, Bapak K.A. Harfan Harfan
Efendy Noor, or Pak Harfan—the Efendy Noor, or
school principal—and a young woman Pak Harfan
wearing a jilbab, or headscarf, Ibu Ibu N.A.
N.A. Muslimah Hafsari, or Bu Mus Muslimah Hafsa
for short. ri, or Bu Mus
2. Yet Bu Mus’ smile was a forced smile: Bu Mus’
she was apprehensive.
9
It The entire school
It The difficulties for a 47-year-
old miner (the writer’s father)
with a lot of children and a
small salary to send his son to
school.
It The easier way for the writer’s
father to send the writer work
as a helper for a Chinese
grocery stall owner at the
morning market, or to the coast
to work as a coolie to help ease
the family’s financial burdens.
It The better solution thought by
the writer to went home, forgot
about school, followed in the
footsteps of some of my older
brothers and cousins, and
became a coolie …
This The nerve-wracking situation
That The fact about the school which
only needed one more student
This The speech from Pak Harun
All The socks, shoes, a jilbab, and a
blouse worn by Sahara and
books, a water bottle and a
backpack brought by Sahara.
Referent
The school principal of
Muhammadiyah Elementary
School, the poorest village school in
Belitong
The teacher of Muhammadiyah
Elementary School, the poorest
village school in Belitong
The teacher of Muhammadiyah
Elementary School, the poorest
village school in Belitong

3. “Nine people, just nine people, Pamanda Guru
Pamanda Guru, still short one,” she
said anxiously to the principal.
4. Pak Harfan stared at her with an Pak Harfan
empty look in his eyes.
5. Anxious because of the restless Bu Mus
Bu Mus, and because of the sensation
of my father’s burden spreading over
my entire body.
6. Bu Mus, who was growing Bu Mus
increasingly fretful, stared at the main
road, hoping there would still be
another new student.
7. and the most concerned of all were Bu Mus
Bu Mus and Pak Harfan.
8. Therefore Bu Mus and Pak Harfan
were worried about being shut down,
while the parents were worried about
expenses, and we—the nine small
children caught in the middle—were
worried we may not get to go to school
at all.
9. Pak Harfan was pessimistic that
they would meet the target of ten this
year, so he secretly prepared a school-
closing speech.
10. We will wait until eleven o’clock,”
Pak Harfan said to Bu Mus and the
already hopeless parents.
11. Bu Mus’ face was puffy from holding Bu Mus’
back tears.
12. Today was Bu Mus’ first day as a Bu Mus’
teacher, a moment she had been
dreaming of for a very long time.
13. Bu Mus stood like a statue under the Bu Mus
bell,
14. Bu Mus could no longer hide Bu Mus
10
Pak Harfan
The school principal of
Muhammadiyah Elementary
School, the poorest village school in
Belitong
The teacher of Muhammadiyah
Elementary School, the poorest
village school in Belitong
The teacher of Muhammadiyah
Elementary School, the poorest
village school in Belitong
The teacher of Muhammadiyah
Elementary School, the poorest
village school in Belitong
Pak Harfan The school principal of
Muhammadiyah Elementary
School, the poorest village school in
Belitong
Bu Mus The teacher of Muhammadiyah
Elementary School, the poorest
village school in Belitong
Pak Harfan The school principal of
Muhammadiyah Elementary
School, the poorest village school in
Belitong
Pak Harfan The school principal of
Muhammadiyah Elementary
School, the poorest village school in
Belitong
Pak Harfan The school principal of
Muhammadiyah Elementary
School, the poorest village school in
Belitong
Bu Mus The teacher of Muhammadiyah
Elementary School, the poorest
village school in Belitong
The teacher of Muhammadiyah
Elementary School, the poorest
village school in Belitong
The teacher of Muhammadiyah
Elementary School, the poorest
village school in Belitong
The teacher of Muhammadiyah
Elementary School, the poorest
village school in Belitong
The teacher of Muhammadiyah
 11

her dejection. Elementary School, the poorest

village school in Belitong
15. and thirty-two faithful years of Pak Pak Harfan’s The school principal of
Harfan’s unrewarded service Muhammadiyah Elementary
were about to come to a close on this School, the poorest village school in
tragic morning. Belitong
16. “Just nine people Pamanda Guru,” Bu Pamanda Guru Pak Harfan
Mus uttered shakily once again. Bu Mus The teacher of Muhammadiyah
Elementary School, the poorest
village school in Belitong
17. Pak Harfan went up to the parents and Pak Harfan The school principal of
greeted them one by one. Muhammadiyah Elementary
School, the poorest village school in
Belitong
18. and Bu Mus’ eyes glistened as Bu Mus’ The teacher of Muhammadiyah
they filled to the brim with tears. Elementary School, the poorest
village school in Belitong
19. Pak Harfan stood in front of the Pak Harfan The school principal of
parents. Muhammadiyah Elementary
School, the poorest village school in
Belitong
20. He was already 15 years old, the same Bu Mus The teacher of Muhammadiyah
age as Bu Mus, Elementary School, the poorest
village school in Belitong
21. They were both nearly out of breath Pak Harfan The school principal of
when they arrived in front of Pak Muhammadiyah Elementary
Harfan. School, the poorest village school in
Belitong
22. “Bapak Guru,” said his mother, Bapak Guru Pak Harfan
gasping for breath.
23. Bu Mus blushed. Bu Mus The teacher of Muhammadiyah
Elementary School, the poorest
village school in Belitong

Based on the analysis and the findings above, here are the summary of the deixis used in
the first chapter of The Rainbow Troops Novel: Ten New Students by Andrea Hirata:
Table 1. Deixis used in the first chapter of The Rainbow Troops Novel: Ten New
Students by Andrea Hirata
Types of Deixis Number of Deictic Word Percentage (%)
Person Deixis 159 75.0
Time Deixis 6 2.8
Place Deixis 10 4.7
Discourse Deixis 9 4.3
Social Deixis 28 13.2
Total 212 100

Table 1 reveals that the total number of deixis found in the first chapter: Ten New
Students of The Rainbow Troops novel written by Andrea Hirata is 212. The deixis that mostly
used in this story is the person deixis with the frequency of 159 (75 %). The following deixis is
social deixis that appears 28 times (13.2 %). The place deixis appears with the frequency of 10
 12

(4.7 %) while the discourse deixis appears with the frequency of 9 (4.3%). The time deixis hardly
used in this novel and it appears only 6 times (2.8 %).

6. Conclusion
Deixis reflects the relationship between the structure of language and the context.
Therefore it helps users to understand the structure of the language and the context surrounds it.
The term deixis refers to a class of linguistic expressions that are used to indicate elements of the
situational context, including the speech participants, the time and location of the current speech
event.
Based on the data analysis, the writer found five types of deixis in the first chapter: Ten
New Students of The Rainbow Troops novel written by Andrea Hirata. The total number of deixis
in this story is 212. The deixis that mostly used by the writer is the person deixis with the
frequency of 159 (75 %). The following deixis is social deixis that appears 28 times (13.2 %).
The place deixis appears with the frequency of 10 (4.7 %) while the discourse deixis appears with
the frequency of 9 (4.3%). The time deixis hardly used in this novel and it appears only 6 times
(2.8 %).
Through the findings of deixis above, it is concluded that deixis reflects the relationship
between the structure of language and the context which cannot be separated and it must be
communicated contextually and pragmatically.

References

Fillmore, Charles J. 1982. Towards a descriptive framework for spatial deixis. In: R. J. Jarvella & W.
Klein (eds.). Speech, Place, and Action. Chichester: John Wiley, 31–59.
Fillmore, Charles J. 1997. Lectures on Deixis. Stanford, CA: CSLI Publications.
Hurford, J., Heasley, B., & Smith, M. (2007). Semantics: A coursebook. Cambridge, RU: Cambridge.
Hirata, Andrea. 2009. The Rainbow Troops, terj. Angie Kilbane. Yogyakarta: Bentang Pustaka.
Levinson, Stephen C. 1983. Pragmatics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lyons, John 1977. Semantics, vol. 1–2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
 13

AN ANALYSIS ON THE USE OF DEIXIS IN THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE RAINBOW

TROOPS NOVEL: TEN NEW STUDENTS BY ANDREA HIRATA (2009)
 14

Submitted as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements of Final Semester Project of Pragmatics

By:
Lenggahing Asri Dwi Eko Saputri
0203514008

ENGLISH EDUCATION GRADUATE PROGRAM

SEMARANG STATE UNIVERSITY
2015