PRAGMATICS

 

1. What is pragmatics?

In the year 1938, an american philosopher Charles W. Morris posited that pragmatics is a branch of semiotics, the study of the contribution of signs to the interpretation process accentuating the well formed language structure and the coherent connection between language and context. In its simplest denotation, Pragmatics is the study of how language is used in context and how context influences the meaning of a person's linguistic utterances.

Pragmatics is another branch of linguistics that deals with meaning and the way context bears upon it: The intended message expressed and conveyed in a communication appeals to the focal concern of pragmatics which is the way language users derive meanings from a particular kind of speech situation or context and being able to interpret, recognize, relate and comprehend the inferred meaning presented. Thus, pragmatics constitutes two vantage points: The first one is the implied and intented meaning that is not necessarily literal; The second is the context that includes physical context (place, time, object, situation, and environment wherein the language is used) and the linguistic context (that is the substance of the message content with the use of language). 

2. What is the purpose of Pragmatics?

The crux purpose of pragmatics is to unravel ambiguity by making sense and give prime consideration to what is being said, the way someone delivers or uses the language in relation to the situation or context to apprehend the intention and potential meaning of the language used.

One of usual instances is when someone came in late in the class and the professor says “what time is it?” the literal response one can give is the exact time he/she arrives. However, in pragmatics the question is equivalent to “why are you so late?” and the pragmatic response to that is to explicate the reason for being late.

Through the mentioned purpose, one can figure out the right meaning and provide the appropriate responses to whom someone communicates. Moreover, pragmatics encompasses the culture, background knowledge about the speaker, the topic of the conversation, and the inferred information for perspicacious understanding of the words. 

3. What are the different types of pragmatics?

Pragmatics has four aspects: The speech acts, rhetorical structure, conversational implicature, and the fourth one is the management of reference in discourse. Each aspect is a representation of the type of pragmatics. 

Speech acts or communicative acts has two categories; it could be direct or indirect manner. Direct speech acts include assertions (declarative), questions (interrogative), orders and request (imperative).  On the other hand, indirect speech acts refer to the alternative way of stating, requesting, or asking something that is discernible to others.

Rhetorical structure covers the systematic structure of text and functions contributing to its functions as part of what is known as “speakers meaning” to persuade, inform, entertain, instruct, etc. that works with exemplification, summarization, persuation, justification and the likes.

Conversational implicature holds the notion about a particular phenomenon of saying or uttering something while implying something else. For instance; telling someone to study thoroughly for the exams especially the discussed presentations could imply that the exam would be very difficult.

The management of reference in discourse pertains to old and new informations. It is knowing how to handle communication and language use in accordance with the knowledge and awareness of the listener. The details one can share or set out depends on the context and the recipient of the information, that is to say that one must be aware, assertive, and prudent in telling something to someone so as not to be misapprehended and inadvertantly offend anyone.

Another, pragmatics is divided into three vital parts namely pragmalinguistics, sociopragmatics, and psycholinguistics. Pragmalinguistics look for applicable grammar elucidation and ferret out suitable structure to utterances that can utilize in accomplishing teaching objectives. Second, sociopragmatics that concerns with the proper manifestation of social behavior, performance, explication and action in communicative situation. Lastly, the psycholinguistics which look into the way children and non-native speakers acquire and learn foreign language corresponding to language teaching context.

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