Pragmatics

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Pragmatics studies the interface between the grammatical/cognitive linguistic system and the social/communicative functions of language in society. Though a combination of readings, hands-on projects, and cross-linguistic investigation, in this course students will learn about how we use words to: perform actions (the theory of speech acts), imply more than what than we say (implicature), build specific meanings by drawing on contextual information (indexicality), link to an established background of assumptions (presupposition), maintain relationships (politeness), and establish social roles (honorificity). Prerequisite: Any course in Linguistics or permission of instructor.