Study on the “Language Game” of Dialect Narration in Li Jieren’s “Ripples in Stagnant Water”
School of Foreign Languages, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China
| Abstract: | This paper takes Li Jieren's novel "The Ripples in the Stagnant Water" as its research object, adopts Wittgenstein's "language-game theory" as the analytical framework, and conducts in-depth analysis of the linguistic characteristics and narrative functions of Sichuan dialect in the novel through literature analysis and close reading methods. The discussion unfolds around the three core propositions of the theory: dialect, as a form of linguistic practice embedded in specific social contexts, vividly reproduces the features of urban life in western Sichuan during the late Qing Dynasty; clusters of synonymous dialect terms, through the partial similarities within their semantic fields, collectively portray the distinct and multi-faceted images of the novel's characters; the contextualized connotations of dialect words not only drive the progression of the plot, but also deeply reflect the evolution of social norms and the ups and downs of the characters' fates. By systematically exploring the dialect narration in "The Ripples in the Stagnant Water", this study attempts to reveal that beyond serving as a carrier of local culture, dialect also functions as an invisible tool for shaping character personas and reconstructing social rules through local cultural logic, thereby providing new perspectives and approaches to the research on regional narration in modern Chinese literature. |
| Keywords: | Li Jieren; Dialect Narration; Language-game Theory; The Ripples in the Stagnant Water |
| DOI: | 10.57237/j.cll.2026.01.002 |
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Received: 20 March 2026
Accepted: 10 April 2026
Published Online: 13 April 2026
Funding
| 1. | 本文系国家社科基金项目“李劼人法国文学汉译与中国文学创作的共生机制研究” (项目批准号: 25XWW002) 的阶段性研究成果 |
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