Pragmatic is a term used to describe a person who is practical and results oriented rather than idealistic. They understand that you have to give a little in order to get a lot and are able to accept that not everyone can get everything they want. Pragmatic people are sensible and grounded, which makes them good at problem solving in the real world.
The pragmatics field is concerned with how we use language in a conversation and what happens when our messages are conveyed and understood by the listeners. It encompasses a wide range of topics, from the grammatical details of language (such as word order and word choice) to how we communicate meaning (such as what we mean by the interjections ouch and oops). Pragmatics also considers the effects of the context in which our speech is uttered and the social and cultural background of the speakers.
One of the founders of classical pragmatism was the philosopher William James who argued that beliefs only become true in the sense that they help us cope with and survive the environment. This pragmatic view of truth contrasts with the philosophical tradition based on Immanuel Kant who held that true beliefs must be objective and unchanging. This pragmatist approach to the philosophy of knowledge is now known as scientific pragmatism or functional epistemology.
James’ pragmatism was influenced by John Dewey who developed a broader pragmatic philosophy of education and life in general. His famous book Art as Experience emphasized that art is an integral part of human culture and everyday experience, and his philosophy of aesthetics differed from the transcendental idealist approach of Immanuel Kant. He held that a work of art is only meaningful when it is experienced.
Another philosopher who contributed to pragmatism was Charles S. Peirce who proposed a system of logic based on the notion that words are interpreted in their concrete contexts and not as abstract symbols. His system, now called symbolic pragmatism or naturalistic pragmatism, is still widely studied and used in the philosophy of science.
Pragmatism has also been a significant influence in the fields of communication and the learning sciences. For example, the journal of pragmatics was founded in 1977 to publish innovative pragmatic scholarship in all areas of language and society, including cognitive pragmatics, corpus pragmatics, experimental pragmatics, interpersonal pragmatics, multimodal pragmatics, sociopragmatics, and theoretical pragmatics.
The pragmatics community includes many renowned scholars who are interested in the study of language and communication. They are researchers, teachers, and students of language from all over the world. The field of pragmatics is continually expanding, and new topics are being explored. For example, the recent work of Bach and Harnish focuses on the role of pragmatics in understanding how the meaning of an utterance is determined. This is a welcome addition to the pragmatics field as it helps to clarify how we interpret what other people say and how they understand our own speech.
Pragmatics is a vital component to include in the classroom because it can help students communicate effectively and develop their pragmatic competence. The Teacher’s Corner feature this month offers suggestions for teaching pragmatics in the speaking classroom through a series of activities that provide different scenarios for making requests.