Pragmatics

In <a href="/facts/Linguistics/oQuamvf2">linguistics</a> and the <a href="/facts/Philosophy_of_language/qwNCwF4W">philosophy of language</a>, pragmatics is the study of how <a href="/facts/Context_(linguistics)/eJM44o7x">context</a> contributes to meaning. The field of study evaluates how human language is utilized in social interactions, as well as the relationship between the interpreter and the interpreted. Linguists who specialize in pragmatics are called pragmaticians. The field has been represented since 1986 by the <a href="/facts/International_Pragmatics_Association/kj65ghok">International Pragmatics Association</a> (IPrA).
Pragmatics encompasses phenomena including <a href="/facts/Implicature/8AaB72xS">implicature</a>, <a href="/facts/Speech_act/l11PGwQu">speech acts</a>, <a href="/facts/Relevance_theory/fMyXQxqB">relevance</a> and <a href="/facts/Conversation_analysis/bMnd5lNl">conversation</a>, as well as <a href="/facts/Nonverbal_communication/Fq7EdXMW">nonverbal communication</a>. Theories of pragmatics go hand-in-hand with theories of <a href="/facts/Semantics/1L4WwLAP">semantics</a>, which studies aspects of meaning, and <a href="/facts/Syntax/6PxSV98p">syntax</a>, which examines sentence structures, principles, and relationships. The ability to understand another speaker's intended meaning is called pragmatic competence. In 1938, Charles Morris first distinguished pragmatics as an independent subfield within semiotics, alongside syntax and semantics. Pragmatics emerged as its own subfield in the 1950s after the pioneering work of <a href="/facts/J._L._Austin/h9FeyFnP">J. L. Austin</a> and <a href="/facts/Paul_Grice/IYrQGQNd">Paul Grice</a>.

Pragmatics open-in-new

Pragmatics