Pragmatics
ENG 122 (Introduction to
Pragmatics)
Definitions
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Pragmatics is the study of the relationships
between linguistic forms and the users of those
forms.
Allows humans into the analysis of linguistics
forms compared with syntax and semantics.
Syntax - relationships between linguistic forms,
how they are arranged in sequence, and which
sequences are well-formed.
Semantics - relationships between linguistic forms
and entities in the world; that is, how words
literally connect to things.
Advantage of studying language via
pragmatics
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One can talk about people’s:
intended meanings
 assumptions
 purposes or goals
 kinds of actions (for example, requests) that they are
performing when they speak
Example:
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A: I am so tired.
B: But it was worth the lie you told him, hmmm…
The disadvantage…
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All these very human concepts are extremely
difficult to analyze in a consistent and
objective way.
Imply for some
 Infer to others
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Without providing any clear linguistic evidence
as the explicit source of ‘the meaning’ of what
was communicated
What is being communicated?
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Her: So− did you?
Him: Hey− who wouldn’t?
I heard the speakers, I knew what they said, but I
had no idea what is communicated!
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female and male are talking
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structure: questions
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meaning, not explicit and can be interpreted
in many ways
Pragmatics …
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is appealing because
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it’s about how people make sense of each
other linguistically
is frustrating because
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it requires us to make sense of people and
what they have in mind
Two meanings
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Intrinsic to a linguistic expression
containing it, and it cannot be separated
from that expression. (semantics)
 Not intrinsic to a linguistic expression, but
results from its interaction with the context
in which it is used.
 The second meaning is the concern of
pragmatics
Illustration
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Susie is a heavy smoker.
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Semantically, it means
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Susie smokes a large quantity of tobacco every
day.
What happens when the sentence is
uttered as a response to three different
utterances produced by Jessica in three
different contexts?
More on pragmatics!
J: Can you ask Susie to sign this petition?
Context: J is trying to have smoking banned in
offices.
 J: Would Susie like to go out with Dave?
Context: J is trying to arrange a blind date for
Dave, a non-smoker who hates cigarette smoke.
 J: Do you know of anybody I could ask?
Context: J, a medical researcher, is looking for
smokers to take part in some medical tests.
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Something different is being
communicated
Susie is unlikely to sign the petition, so
there's no point of asking her.
 Susie and David won't get on, so there's no
point in fixing them up.
 Susie will be a suitable person for J's study.
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These meanings have been communicated as a
consequence of the interaction between what
was said and the context in which it was said.
Context-bound relationship
What is said and What is communicated
 Pragmatics is the study of speaker
meaning.
 Pragmatics is the study of contextual
meaning.
 Pragmatics is the study of how more gets
communicated than is said.
 Pragmatics is the study of the expression
of relative distance.
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In face-to-face interaction
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Pragmatics is not as clear and explained in
spontaneous interaction. Even if Susie, for
instance, feels offended with context 2 (blind
date), if J is asking her, theoretically, she would
still cooperate in the conversation.
Cooperative principle is the fundamental
principle governing conversational exchanges
When spoken interaction is transcribed in written
form, analysts can study more closely the
utterances and apply a pragmatic analysis on the
transcript.