Pragmatics

Pragmatics is a topic that intersects many social science fields including linguistics, anthropology, psychology, sociology, and communication. This entry defines pragmatics and outlines approaches to its study, including some key contributors to pragmatic theories and concepts. The most basic definition of pragmatics is the study of signs as used in actual situations. The root of the word derives from prassein, Greek for “to do,” indicating the association of pragmatics with practice or action. In semiotics, the term was first used by Charles Morris in 1937 to distinguish sign behavior from structure (syntactics) and meaning (semantics). The less specialized definition of pragmatics (as something that is practical, concrete, or realistic) contributed to philosophical pragmatism in the late 1800s, which similarly concerns itself with usefulness and practical consequences, but not necessarily with a semiotic or linguistic focus. The semiotic concept of pragmatics (the use of signs) has influenced distinct research traditions in relational communication and discourse studies.