Introduction to Pragmatics: Understanding What People Really Mean

How do we understand what people really mean, not just what they say? This course explores how speakers use language to convey meanings that go beyond literal words - through context, tone, inference, and shared knowledge. Students will examine topics such as implicature, presupposition, speech acts, and politeness, applying these concepts to real-world examples from everyday conversation, media, and cross-cultural communication. Designed for students curious about how language works in interaction, this course bridges linguistics, psychology, and social life.