Pragmatics and Language Use

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What is pragmatics?

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The study of how language is affected by the situation in which it is used, how language is used to get things or perform actions, and how words can express things that are different from what they appear to mean.

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What is deixis?

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Words and phrases that cannot be fully understood without additional contextual information, used to point to objects, people, places, times, or concepts within a conversation.

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What are the types of deixis?

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1. Person Deixis: Refers to participants in the conversation (e.g., I, you). 2. Place Deixis: Indicates location relative to the speaker (e.g., here, there). 3. Time Deixis: Points to specific times (e.g., now, then). 4. Discourse Deixis: Refers to parts of the discourse itself (e.g., this, that). 5. Social Deixis: Relates to social relationships and status (e.g., sir, ma'am).

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Give an example of person deixis.

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"I will call you tomorrow."

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What is reference in pragmatics?

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The act of using language to point to or identify something or someone within the context of communication.

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What are proper nouns?

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Names that refer to specific entities, such as people or places (e.g., "Paris is known for its beautiful architecture").

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What is inference in pragmatics?

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The process of drawing conclusions that go beyond the explicit information provided in the discourse, based on context, background knowledge, and logical reasoning.

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What is anaphora in pragmatics?

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The use of expressions (usually pronouns or noun phrases) that depend on another expression within the discourse for their interpretation.

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What is presupposition in pragmatics?

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Background assumptions or implicit information that speakers and listeners share or take for granted in communication.

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What are speech acts?

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Actions performed via utterances in communication, which can command, ask, promise, apologize, thank, and more.