ASSIGNMENT by:

NUR IFTITAH (F041171005)

Definition of Pragmatics by Experts:

 Mey (1994: 3) has suggested that Pragmatics is a science that has something to do with
language and its users.

 Pragmatics as a field of linguistic inquiry was initiated in the 1930s by the philosopher
Charles Morries, Carnap, and Pierce. They cited that Syntax addressed the formal
relations of signs to one of another, Semantics the relation of signs to what they denote,
and Pragmatics the relation of signs to their users and interpreters (Morris in Horn and
Ward, 2007: xi).

 Yule (1996: 3) has cited that Pragmatics deals with the study of meaning as
communicated by a speaker or a writer and interpreted by a listener or reader. This
implies that Pragmatics is the study of speaker meaning since it deals more with what the
speaker means by uttering than what the words or phrases in the utterance mean. It also
implies that Pragmatics is the study of contextual meaning as it covers the interpretation
of what people means in a particular context and how the context influences what is said.
In addition, it has an implication that Pragmatics is the study of how more gets
communicated than is said due to the fact that it investigates how listeners may draw
inferences about what is said or what the speaker intends to say. Last but not least,
Pragmatics is the study of the expression of relative distance, meaning that how close or
distant the listener is, the speaker determines how much needs to be said.

 Pragmatics is often described as the study of language use (Sperber and Wilson, 2005:
468).

 It is one of the branches of Semiotics, a science of signs (Nőth, 1995: 3).

 In this instance, Pragmatics deals with the study of the relation of signs to interpreters.
Whereas the other two branches of Semiotics include Syntactics or Syntax, the study of
formal relations of signs to one another, and Semantics, the study of the relation of signs
to the objects to which the signs are applicable (Levinson, 1995: 1).

 Pragmatics plays an important role in studying language as a tool of human interaction,

i.e. the interaction between the speaker and the hearer . To understand human interaction,
we have to understand ‘interactional’ meanings expressed in speech and we must have
appropriate analytical devices to clarify such meanings (Wierzbicka, 1991: 1,5.).

 Crystal (1987: 120) states that pragmatics studies the factors that govern our choice of
language in social interaction and the effect of our choice on others. In theory, we can say
 anything we like. In practice, we follow a large number of social rules (most of them
unconsciously) that constrain the way we speak.

 Levinson (1983: 7) Pragmatics is the study of language from a functional perspective,

that is, that it attempts to explain facets of linguistic structure by reference to non-
linguistic pressures and causes.

 Subroto (1999: 1) explains that pragmatics is semantic intent. In many ways pragmatics is
parallel to semantics, because both of them examine meaning. The difference is
pragmatics examines the meaning of lingual units externally while semantics examines
the meaning of lingual units internally.

 Wijana (1996: 2) says that semantics and pragmatics are branches of linguistics that
examine the meanings of lingual units, only that semantics study meaning internally,
whereas pragmatics studies meaning externally.

 According to Leech (1993: 1), pragmatics is a branch of linguistics that is increasingly

known today, although in about two decades ago, this science was rarely or almost never
mentioned by linguists. This is based on the growing awareness of the linguists, that
efforts to uncover the nature of language will not bring the expected results without being
based on an understanding of pragmatics, namely how the language is used in
communication. Leech (1993: 8) also defines pragmatics as the study of meaning in
relation to speech situations..

 According to Verhaar (1996: 14), pragmatics is a branch of linguistics that discusses what
is included in the structure of language as a means of communication between speakers
and listeners, and as a reference to language signs on the extralingual things discussed.

 Pragmatics are defined as conditions that result in the harmonious use of language in
communication; aspects of language use or context outside the language that contribute to
the meaning of speech (Kridalaksana, 1993: 177).

 Morris (1960) said that pragmatic is a discipline that studies the use of signs, which can
specifically be interpreted as the way people use language signs and the way language
signs are interpreted. what is meant by people according to the definition is the user of
the sign itself, namely the speaker.