Concept
of Pragmatics
Jacobsen (2010: 8) point
out the Speech act theory has little to contribute to pragmatics. pragmatics
understood as the study of how language interacts with other cognitive systems
(e.g. perception, memory, inference) in verbal communication and comprehension.
Dylgjeri (2017: 19)
defines Pragmatics is seen as the study of language use in particular
communicative contexts or situations of necessity, this would take cognizance
of the message being communicated or the speech act being performed; the
participants involved; their intention, knowledge of the
world and the
impact of these
on their interactions;
what they have
taken for granted as
part of the
context; the deductions
they make on
the basis of
the context; what is
implied by what
is said or
left unsaid; etc.
Kristani (2013: 950)
defines Pragmatics is concerning with the study of speaker’s meaning. This study involves the
interpretation about a context in an utterance which requires the same thought
between the speaker and the hearer. the definitions of pragmatics are:
1. The study of speaker’s meaning
2. Pragmatics focuses on the
study of the meaning of utterances performed by a speaker and interpreted by a
hearer.
3. The study of contextual meaning
4. Pragmatics focuses on the
interpretation of a context in the utterances performed by a speaker.
5. The study of how more
gets communicated than is said
6. Pragmatics focuses on the
ability of a hearer to interpret the intended meaning of a speaker.
7. The study of the expression of relative distance
8. Pragmatics focuses on the
determination of a speaker to decide how much needs to be said.
In conclusion, pragmatics
can be defined as a study about the relationship between language and its
social context in the process of communication between a speaker and hearer.
Pragmatics talks about how people understand the speaker’s intention through
verbal communication and gestures. In other words, pragmatics also studies how people
comprehend and produce a communicative speech act in a conversation.
