Editing Pragmatics (section)

{{Short description|Branch of linguistics and semiotics relating context to meaning}}
{{About|the subfield of linguistics|the journal|Pragmatics (journal){{!}}''Pragmatics'' (journal)|the philosophy topic|Pragmatism}}
{{Linguistics|Subfields}}

In [[linguistics]] and related fields, '''pragmatics''' is the study of how [[Context (linguistics)|context]] 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.<ref>{{cite book | doi = 10.1016/B0-08-044854-2/00306-0 | chapter = Pragmatics: Overview | year = 2006 | last1 = Mey| first1 = Jacob L. | pages = 51–62 | editor-last=Brown | editor-first=E. K. | editor-last2=Anderson | editor-first2=Anne | title=Encyclopedia of language & linguistics | edition=2nd | publisher=Elsevier | publication-place=Amsterdam | isbn=978-0-08-044854-1}}</ref> Linguists who specialize in pragmatics are called '''pragmaticians'''. The field has been represented since 1986 by the [[International Pragmatics Association]] (IPrA).

Pragmatics encompasses phenomena including [[implicature]], [[speech act]]s, [[relevance theory|relevance]] and [[Conversation analysis|conversation]],<ref name="Mey">Mey, Jacob L. (1993) ''Pragmatics: An Introduction''. Oxford: Blackwell (2nd ed. 2001).</ref> as well as [[nonverbal communication]]. Theories of pragmatics go hand-in-hand with theories of [[semantics]], which studies aspects of meaning, and [[syntax]], which examines sentence structures, principles, and relationships. The ability to understand another speaker's intended meaning is called ''pragmatic competence''.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1111/1540-4781.00153|title = The Role of an Interactive Book Reading Program in the Development of Second Language Pragmatic Competence|year = 2002|last1 = Kim|first1 = Daejin|last2 = Hall|first2 = Joan Kelly|journal = The Modern Language Journal|volume = 86|issue = 3|pages = 332–348 | jstor=1192847}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | first=Masahiro | last=Takimoto | date=2008 | title=The Effects of Deductive and Inductive Instruction on the Development of Language Learners' Pragmatic Competence | journal=The Modern Language Journal | volume=92 | number=3 | pages=369–386 | doi=10.1111/j.1540-4781.2008.00752.x | jstor=25173064}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1540-4781.1989.tb06364.x|title=Pragmatic Competence and Adult L2 Acquisition: Speech Acts in Interlanguage|year=1989|last1=Koike|first1=Dale April|journal=The Modern Language Journal|volume=73|issue=3|pages=279–289 | jstor=327002}}</ref> In 1938, Charles Morris first distinguished pragmatics as an independent subfield within semiotics, alongside syntax and semantics.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Israel |first=Michael |title=The grammar of polarity: Pragmatics, sensitivity, and the logic of scales |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2011 |location=Cambridge |page=10}}</ref> Pragmatics emerged as its own subfield in the 1950s after the pioneering work of [[J. L. Austin]] and [[Paul Grice]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Kroeger | first=Paul R. | date=2019-01-12 | title=Analyzing meaning: An introduction to semantics and pragmatics | edition=2nd | publication-place=Berlin | publisher=Language Science Press | isbn=978-3-96110-136-8 | doi=10.5281/ZENODO.2538330 | doi-access=free | url=https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/231 | pages=12, 141}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Coppock |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Champollion |first2=Lucas |date=2019 |title=Invitation to formal semantics |edition=2019 |url=https://eecoppock.info/bootcamp/semantics-boot-camp.pdf |page=37 |url-status=dead |access-date=2020-01-01 |archive-date=2020-09-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200907141222/http://eecoppock.info/bootcamp/semantics-boot-camp.pdf }}{{vn|date=April 2024}}</ref>