Pragmatics as a Part of Semantics

Abstract

Pragmatics is evolving beyond its initial status as a subset of semantics, deserving greater attention in the language classroom. Semantic rules of sentence construction may provide an incomplete picture of intended meaning. First, some definitions as outlined in the literature will be considered. Then concepts that are relative to these definitions will be explored. Meaning in the semantic sense differs from pragmatic meaning, yet provides some common ground between the two terms. Meaning will differ, however, due to context. Deictic expressions, often with pronouns, highlight some of the overlap between pragmatics and semantics. Truth value assists in comparing semantics with pragmatics, though writers differ on the extent to which it can be applied.