Introduction to Pragmatics University level.pdf

A small description about pragmatic.

1. Introduction
to
Pragmatics
Compiled by: Fazal Rahman Sohail
Date: 12/01/1399

2. Definitions
1-Pragmatics is concerned with the study of meaning as communicated by a
speaker (or writer) and interpreted by a listener (or reader).
2-Pragmatics is the study of speaker meaning, contextual meaning, the expression
of relative distance, andhow more gets communicated than is said.
3-Pragmatics examines how speakers understand and communicate more than the
literal meaning of words or sentences.
4-The study of the use of linguistics signs, words, and sentences, in actual
situations.

3. Descriptions
The type of meaning studied in pragmatics is known as utterance meaning,
meaning in context, or meaning in interaction.
In short, pragmatics is about getting from what is said to what is meant.
Example:
Her: So----did you?
Him: Hey----who wouldn’t?
In the above example, I heard the speakers, I knew what they said, but I had no
idea what was communicated.

4. Cont.
Jenny Thomas says that pragmatics considers:
–The negotiation of meaning between speaker and listener.
–The context of the utterance.
–The meaning potential of an utterance.
It looks beyond the literal meaning of an utterance and considers how meaning
is constructed as well as focusing on implied meanings.
It considers language as an instrument of interaction, what people mean when
they use language, and how we communicate and understand each other.

6. Importance of Pragmatics
The education of pragmatics is necessary in todays world. The reason is that
English is currently the language of trade and education. (Mckay, 2002)
It is essential for avoiding miscommunication caused by cultural difference.
The teaching and learning of pragmatics would release the difficulties of
international communications for both native and non-native speakers.
By knowing pragmatics, one can interpret the meanings of language from a
broader intercultural aspect.

7. Cont.
For an EFL/ESL learner, knowing only grammatical rules is not sufficient, rather
pragmatic competence is also important.
English speakers need to be not only proficient in linguistic competence, but
also in pragmatics knowledge.
They need to know about the politenessand appropriateness.
Note: Pragmatic Competence is the ability to use language appropriately
within social contexts.

8. Advantage & Disadvantage
The advantage of studying language via pragmatics is that one can talk about
people’s intended meaning, their assumptions, their purposes or goals, and the
kinds of actions (for example, requests) that they are performing when they
speak.
The big disadvantage is that all these very human concepts are extremely
difficult to analyze in a consistent and objective way.
Example: He applied for it.
In the above example, (he & it) refer to different nouns in different contexts.

9. Some Videos Related to
Pragmatics
https://youtu.be/rVP-TWE-Ikg
https://youtu.be/OnRSPer4b5Q
https://youtu.be/VKbp4hEHV-s
https://youtu.be/q4rvrpmzfjA
https://youtu.be/gjlJF17o72I?t=18

10. References
–Yule, G. (1996). Pragmatics. Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York.
–Francke, A. (2006). Introduction to English Linguistics. Germany
–Saeed, J. I. (2016). Semantics. Fourth Edition. Blackwell Publishers, Ltd, UK.
–Grace, H. C. L. (2007). The Significance of Pragmatics. MINGDAO JOURNAL.
Volume, 3(2) : 91 -102, MingDao University.
–Alinezhad, A. (2015). The Significance of Pragmatics in English Language
Teaching. ELT Voices -India, Volume, 5 (1), 19-24.
–https://all-about-linguistics.group.shef.ac.uk/branches-of-
linguistics/pragmatics/what-is-pragmatics/(10/04/2020)

11. Thank You