Pragmatics in Discourse Analysis

 

Pragmatics in Discourse Analysis

 

◈ INTRODUCTION

 

■ Syntax is the area of language analysis that describes relationships between linguistic forms, how they are arranged in sequence, and which sequences are well-formed and therefore grammatically acceptable. 

 

■ Semantics is the area of language analysis that describes how meaning is encoded in the language and is therefore concerned mainly with the meaning of lexical items. Semantics is also concerned with the study of relationships between language forms and entities in real or imaginary worlds (Yule, 1996). 


■ Pragmatics deals very explicitly with the study of relationships holding between linguistic forms and the human beings who use these forms. As such, pragmatics is concerned with people's intentions, assumptions, beliefs, goals, and the kinds of actions they perform while using language. Pragmatics is also concerned with contexts, situations, and settings within which such language uses occur.