II. Pragmatics: an overview

1. Definition

 Pragmatics can be defined as the analysis of meaning in context.

 Pragmatic analysis of meaning is first and foremost concerned with the study of what is communicated by a speaker/writer and interpreted by a listener/reader.

 Analysis of intentional meaning necessarily involves the interpretation of what people do through language in a particular context.

 Intended meaning may or may not be explicitly expressed. Pragmatic analysis also explores how listeners/readers make inferences about what is communicated.

2. What are the differences between the two linguistic studies of meaning – semantics and pragmatics?

1) Semantics studies literal, structural or lexical meaning, while pragmatics studies non-literal, implicit, intended meaning, or speaker meaning.

2) Semantics is context independent, decontextualized, while pragmatics is context dependent, contextualized.

3) Semantics deals with what is said, while pragmatics deals with what is implicated or inferred.