ENGLISH SYNTAX

Name : Nur Amalia

Nim : 06620200001
Class : C1

pragmatics is the study of how context contributes to meaning. The field of study evaluates how
human language is utilized in social interactions, as well as the relationship between the
interpreter and the interpreted. Linguists who specialize in pragmatics are called pragmaticians.
Pragmatics encompasses phenomena including implicature, speech
acts, relevance and conversation, as well as nonverbal communication. Theories of pragmatics
go hand-in-hand with theories of semantics, which studies aspects of meaning, and syntax which
examines sentence structures, principles, and relationships. The ability to understand another
speaker's intended meaning is called pragmatic competence. Pragmatics emerged as its own
subfield in the 1950s after the pioneering work of J.L. Austin and Paul Grice.
Examples of Pragmatics:
1. Will you crack open the door? I am getting hot.
Semantically, the word "crack" would mean to break, but pragmatically we know that the
speaker means to open the door just a little to let in some air.
2. I heart you!
Semantically, "heart" refers to an organ in our body that pumps blood and keeps us alive.
However, pragmatically, "heart" in this sentence means "love"-hearts are commonly used as
a symbol for love, and to "heart" someone has come to mean that you love someone.
3. If you eat all of that food, it will make you bigger!
Semantically, "bigger" in this sentence would mean larger than you are currently. Think
about how this sentence, pragmatically, would mean something different depending on the
context. If it is said to a young child, pragmatically, it would mean to grow bigger. If it is said
to a grown person who is already obese, it would mean something entirely different.