Pragmatics

Pragmatics studies how meaning is constructed in context, and how what we mean often goes beyond what words literally encode owing to phenomena such as implicature and indirect speech acts. While linguistic forms, from morphemes and words to larger constructions, provide a basis for interpretation, communicated meaning emerges through how those forms are used in context and how their functions are inferred by interlocutors. The course traces the journey of meaning from the micro-level, investigating how expressions like ‘here’ or ‘then’ anchor us in time and space, to macro-phenomena such as metapragmatic awareness and the complexities of cross-cultural interaction. As a result, we will establish how linguistic form, social norms, and cognitive inference shape how we actually communicate with each other.