Pragmatics

Pragmatics is an important branch of linguistics in the English language. It helps us look beyond
the literal meaning of words and utterances and allows us to focus on how meaning is
constructed in specific contexts. When we communicate with other people, there is a constant
negotiation of meaning between the listener and the speaker. Pragmatics looks at this negotiation
and aims to understand what people mean when they communicate with each other.

What is pragmatics in linguistics?

Pragmatics looks at the difference between the literal meaning of words and their intended
meaning in social contexts. It takes into account things such as irony, metaphor and intention.
The Oxford Companion to Philosophy (1995) defines pragmatics as:

The study of language which focuses attention on the users and the context of language use
rather than on reference, truth, or grammar.

Origin of pragmatics
The philosopher and psychologist Charles W. Morris coined the term Pragmatics in the 1930s,
and the term was further developed as a subfield of linguistics in the 1970s.

What is the history of pragmatics?

Pragmatics in the English language is one of the youngest of the linguistic disciplines. However,
its history can be traced back to the 1870s and the philosophers Charles Sanders Pierce, John
Dewey, and William James.
Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that considers words as tools for understanding the
world and rejects the idea that the function of thought is to mirror reality directly. Pragmatists
suggest that all philosophical thought, including language, is best understood in terms of its
practical uses.
In 1947, Charles Morris drew upon pragmatism and his background in philosophy,
sociology, and anthropology to set out his theory of pragmatics in his book 'Signs, Language
and Behaviour'. Morris said that pragmatics "deals with the origins, uses, and effects of signs
within the total behaviour of the interpreters of signs." ¹

In the case of pragmatics, signs refer to the movements, gestures, body language, and tone of
voice that usually accompanies speech rather than physical signs, such as road signs.
What are some examples of pragmatics?
Pragmatics considers the meaning of language within its social context and refers to how we use
words in a practical sense. To understand what is genuinely being said, we must examine the
contexts (including the physical location) and look out for social cues, for example, body
language and tone of voice.

Let's look at some different pragmatic examples, and their contextual meaning, and see if it starts
to make a bit more sense.
Example 1

Picture this: You and your friend are sitting in your bedroom studying, and she says, 'It's hot in
here. Can you crack open a window? '
If we take this literally, your friend is asking you to crack the window - to damage it. However,
taken in context, we can infer that they are actually asking for the window to be opened a little.

Example 2
Picture this: You're talking to a neighbour and they look bored. Your neighbour keeps looking at
their watch, and they don't appear to be paying much attention to what you're saying. Suddenly,
they say, 'Gosh, would you look at the time! '
The literal meaning is that your neighbour is instructing you to look at the time. However, we
can infer that they are trying to get away from the conversation due to their general body
language.

Why is pragmatics important?

Pragmatics is key to understanding language use in context and is a useful basis for
understanding language interactions.

Imagine a world where you had to explain everything you meant in full; there could be no slang,
jokes probably wouldn't be funny, and conversations would be twice as long!
Let's take a look at what life would be like without pragmatics.
'What time do you call this?! '
Literal meaning = What time is it?
Real meaning = Why are you so late?!
Because of the insights of pragmatics, we know that the speaker does not actually want to know
what time it is, but is making the point that the other person is late. In this case, it would be best
to apologise rather than give the speaker the time!
Now, consider the following sentences. How many different meanings can they have? How
important is context when inferring the meaning of each sentence?
 You're on fire!
 You have the green light.
  This way.

are the different theories in pragmatics?

Pragmatics: The Cooperative Principle

The 'cooperative principle' is a theory by Paul Grice. Grice's theory explains how and why
conversations tend to succeed rather than fail. Grice's theory is based on the idea of cooperation;
he suggests that speakers inherently want to cooperate when communicating, which helps
remove any obstacles to understanding. In order to facilitate successful communication, Grice
says that when we talk, it is important to say enough to get your point across, be truthful, be
relevant, and be as clear as possible.

This brings us to Grice's 4 Maxims. These are the four assumptions we make when talking with
other people.

 Maxim of Quality: They will tell the truth or what they think is the truth.
 Maxim of Quantity: They will give sufficient information.
 Maxim of Relevance: They will say things that are relevant to the conversation.
 Maxim of Manner: They will be clear, pleasant and helpful.

Pragmatics: politeness theory

Penelope Brown and Steven Levinson created 'politeness theory' in the 1970s. It seeks to
explain how politeness in conversation works. Politeness theory was built around the concept of
'saving face' - this means maintaining your public image and avoiding humiliation.

Brown and Levinson suggest that we have two types of face: positive face and negative face.

 Positive face is our self-esteem. For example, our desire to be liked, loved, and
reliable.
 Negative face is our desire to be free to act as we wish, to be unimpeded.

When we are polite to people, we are appealing to either their positive or negative face.
Appealing to a person's positive face = Making the individual feel good and positive about
themselves.
"You always wear such lovely clothes! I'd love to borrow something one day. "
Appealing to a person's negative face = making the other person feel like they haven't been
taken advantage of.
"I know it's a real pain, and I hope you don't mind, but could you please print these off for me? "
Pragmatics: conversational implicature
'Conversational implicature', sometimes known simply as 'implicature', is another theory from
Paul Grice. It looks at indirect speech acts. When examining implicatures, we want to know
what the speaker means, even though they haven't explicitly said it. It's an indirect form of
communication.
Conversational implicature is directly linked to the co-operative theory. It relies on the basis that
the speaker and the listener are cooperating. When a speaker implies something, they can be
confident that the listener will understand it.

A couple are watching TV, but they are both looking at their phones and not paying much
attention to the TV. The boy says, "Are you watching this? " The girl grabs the remote and
changes the channel.
Nobody explicitly suggested changing the channel, but the meaning was implied.

What is the difference between pragmatics and

semantics?
Semantics and pragmatics are two of the main branches of linguistics. While both semantics and
pragmatics study the meaning of words in language, there are a couple of key differences
between them.
Semantics refers to the meaning that grammar and vocabulary provide, and does not consider the
context or inferred meanings. In contrast, pragmatics looks at the same words but in their social
context. Pragmatics considers the relationship between social context and language.
Example 1.

"It's cold in here, isn't it?"

Semantics = the speaker is asking for confirmation that the room is cold.
Pragmatics = there may be another meaning associated with this question. For example, the
speaker may be hinting that they want the heating turned on or the window closed. The context
would make this clearer.
Here's a handy table for you that sets out some of the key differences between semantics and
pragmatics.

Semantics Pragmatics

The study of words The study of words and their

and their meanings. meanings in context.

The literal meanings The intended meaning of

of words. words.

Covers the relationships

Limited to the
between words, interlocutors
relationship between
(people engaged in a
words.
conversation), and context.