Pragmatic is the study of meaning as it is conveyed through language and context. Pragmatics investigates the way in which a speaker’s intention, listener interpretation, and social interaction shapes communication. Ultimately, pragmatics provides a unique lens into the nuanced and dynamic interplay of language and human behavior. It uncovers implicit meanings, helps to navigate social relationships and power dynamics, and sheds light on conversational structure and coherence. Moreover, its interdisciplinary nature—spanning linguistics, sociology, philosophy, psychology, and communication studies—emphasizes the interconnectedness of language with wider cultural, psychological, and cognitive dimensions of life.
When used in everyday speech, pragmatism often refers to someone who is realistic about their goals and actions, as opposed to an idealistic person who adheres strictly to their beliefs and values. However, a balanced approach with some degree of idealism is often the best path to success. In the field of research, pragmatic research focuses on getting meaningful and relevant results delivered in a timely manner with limited resources. These principles can be applied to a clinical setting with the patient in mind as part of what is called ‘patient-centered care’.
The term pragmatics has become an important and broad umbrella for a wide range of research in discourse analysis, communication studies, anthropology, philosophy, and semiotics. It is also a prominent feature in many applied areas such as public administration, political science, leadership studies, and education. This is because pragmatism emphasizes the connection between thought and action, which is essential in these applied fields.
At its core, pragmatics is a branch of linguistics. It examines how meaning is constructed and interpreted through a variety of linguistic features, including syntax, phonology, and morphology, as well as non-linguistic signs and symbols. Combined, these elements give rise to the notion of context-dependent semantics, a central concept in pragmatics. This concept explains why the same phrase can have different meanings in different contexts and why a speaker might choose to express something differently depending on the audience or situation.
The Journal of Pragmatics publishes invited reviews that provide a detailed, critical summary of current research findings on a particular topic or area of pragmatics. We welcome submissions that address the key issues in pragmatics and their implications, or that make a contribution to the understanding of how people communicate in the real world. We are particularly interested in studies that employ an experimental or empirical method and/or are broadly relevant to clinical practice. The interdisciplinary nature of the journal allows for a rich cross-pollination of ideas, theories and methods across disciplines. We welcome articles that explore the intersection of pragmatics with other disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, philosophy, psychology, and medicine. We also encourage papers that use an analytical and theoretical framework that is integrative, not purely descriptive, in order to contribute to a holistic view of how humans communicate. In this respect, the JP aims to be at the cutting edge of pragmatic theory and methodology.
