Pragmatics seeks to understand the ways in which people use language to communicate and interact. It considers what the speakers mean by their words, how those meanings are shaped by the particular circumstances in which they are spoken, and how people manage to convey their messages despite these constraints. The field of pragmatics is a rapidly growing area, and one that presents challenges for educators as it is difficult to find suitable materials and to provide students with meaningful practice in the real world.
The aim of this issue of the Journal of Language Learning and Development is to highlight both classic and recent research and theorizing in this important area. The three authors invited for this issue—Eve Clark, Jesse Snedeker and Danielle Matthews—were selected in part because of their contributions to the Symposium on Pragmatic Development sponsored by the Society for Language Learning and Development in November 2015. The goal of this Symposium was to showcase some of the classic and more recent work in pragmatic development and to promote discussion of where the field should go next.
Originally developed in the United States around 1870, pragmatism represents a growing third alternative to analytic and Continental philosophical traditions worldwide. Its first generation was initiated by Charles Sanders Peirce and William James. In his 1907 essay, ‘The Present Dilemma in Philosophy’, James identified an apparently irresolvable clash between two ways of thinking and promised that pragmatism would resolve the conflict by embracing an empiricist commitment to experience and by appealing to rationality rather than positing a priori principles.
Contemporary pragmatists are challenging many of the tenets of classical pragmatism and have contributed to a rich set of insights into the nature of human communication and understanding of the world in which we live. These include a notion of context that is more than just the environment in which an utterance is heard, a view of truth as not being a substantial metaphysical property and a theory of reference that includes both linguistic and non-linguistic features.
In addition to its value for language learners, the study of pragmatics also has relevance for researchers in other fields such as sociology and philosophy. It has become a crucial tool for analyzing and understanding communication in all its forms.
In a classroom setting, the study of pragmatics can involve activities such as role-playing with different people and locations in order to develop students’ ability to greet appropriately, make requests and offer advice. However, it is important to remember that pragmatic skills must be taught at the level appropriate for the developmental stage of each individual student. In the classroom, pragmatic instruction usually is incorporated in an integrated manner with other pedagogical approaches. For example, it may be included as part of a lesson focusing on the cultural differences between home and target languages in order to help learners learn to adjust their style of speaking to the appropriate social context and culture. In other cases, it might be added to content in the textbook such as an explanation of apologies or how to ask for directions.
