Pragmatics is the study of contextual meaning in communication. It involves understanding what is meant by a speaker rather than just the literal meaning of words. Key aspects of pragmatics include understanding language use for different purposes, adjusting language based on the listener, and following social rules of conversation. Pragmatics relies on both linguistic context of surrounding words as well as the physical context of the communication situation to infer intended meaning beyond what is explicitly stated.

1. pragmatics
Lecture #6
Prepared by :T.Lama Albabtain

2. What is pragmatics

3. Pragmatics
• Definition
1: “Pragmatics is the study of speaker meaning.”
2: “ Pragmatics is the study of contextual
meaning”
3:“ Pragmatics is the study of how more gets
communicated than is said”
4:“ Pragmatics is the study of the expression of
relative distance.” ( Yule:2008).

4. As we learned
• Pragmatics:
is study of how we use
language to achieve
communicative goals.

5. Invisible meaning
• Pragmatics is the study of invisible
meaning ,that is how to recognize ,the
underlined meanings which are not
apparently said or written.

6. Social Language Use
(Pragmatics)
You have invited your friend over for dinner.
Your child sees your friend reach for some
cookies and says, "Better not take those,
or you'll get even bigger." You're
embarrassed that your child could speak
so rudely.

7. However, you should consider that your
child may may not know how to use
language appropriately in social situations
and did not mean harm by the comment .

8. An individual may say words clearly and use
long, complex sentences with correct
grammar, but still have a communication
problem - if he or she has not mastered
the rules for social language known as
pragmatics . Adults may also have
difficulty with pragmatics, for example, as
a result of a brain injury or stroke

9. For example, an advertisement shows the
following words:
HEATED
ATTENDANT
PARKING
from the apparent meaning different
interpretations can be assumed like

10. “ You take an attendant , you heat him up ,
and this is the place where you can park
him, another assumption may be like this “ It
is a place where parking will be carried out
by attendants who have been heated,”
despite these interpretations on the basis of
apparent meanings , we would normally
understand that you can park your car in this
place, that is heated area and that there will
be an attendant to look after the car.
We have inferred these meanings by taking
into account the context and combination of
the words used by the speaker or writer.

11. • In fact Pragmatics , is the study of
investigation of such assumptions and
expectations which provide us with the
insights into how more gets communicated
than is said.

12. Pragmatics involve three
major communication skills:
1-Using language for different purposes
2-Changing language according to the
needs of a listener or situation
3-Following rules for conversations and
storytelling

13. Using language for different
purposes, such as
– greeting (e.g., hello, goodbye)
– informing (e.g., I'm going to get a cookie)
– demanding (e.g., Give me a cookie)
– promising (e.g., I'm going to get you a cookie)
– requesting (e.g., I would like a cookie, please)

14. Following rules for conversations
and storytelling, such as
– taking turns in conversation
– introducing topics of conversation
– staying on topic
– rephrasing when misunderstood
– how to use verbal and nonverbal signals
g
– how to use facial expressions and eye
contact

15. C hanging language according to
the needs of a listener or situation,
such as
– talking differently to a baby than to an
adult
– giving background information to an
unfamiliar listener
– speaking differently in a classroom than
on a playground

16. Context
• Linguistic context ( co-text)
• Physical context

17. Linguistic Context
• The set of other words used in same phrase or
sentence.
• This surrounding co-text has a strong effect on
what we think the words mean.
• The word Bank is a homonym, a form with more
than one meaning.
• We know about the actual meaning of this word
on the basis of linguistic context.

18. If the word “ bank “ is used in a sentence
together with words like steep or
overgrown, we have no problem deciding
which type of bank is meant. Similarly
when we hear some one say that she has
to get to the bank to cash a cheque, we
know from the linguistic context which
type of bank is intended.

19. Physical Context
• Physical context ( time and place in which we
encounter linguistic expression) plays a vital role
in making us understand much of what we read
or hear.
• For example, if we see the word BANK on the
wall of a building in a city, the physical location
will influence our interpretation.
• So we know what words mean on the basis of
another type of context i.e Physical context.

20. Conclusion
• Understanding how people communicate
is actually a process of interpreting not just
what speakers say , but what they intend
to mean.

21. Pragmatics
• When a diplomat says yes , he means ‘perhaps’;
When he says perhaps , he means ‘no’;
When he says no , he is not a diplomat.
When a lady says no , she means ‘perhaps’;
When she says perhaps , she means ‘yes’;
When she says yes , she is not a lady.
Voltaire (Quoted, in Spanish, in Escandell 1993.)