Pragmatic is a word that describes a person or a philosophy that takes a practical, realistic approach to life. A pragmatic person is down to earth, conscientious, synchronized realist—and doesn’t expect a four-year-old to have a birthday party filled with unicorns. Pragmatic people can see the big picture and are often more likely to get things done than a happy-go-lucky idealist.
Pragmatism was a philosophical movement formulated by American philosophers William James and John Dewey. The philosophy stresses the importance of experience and context in understanding meaning. In addition, it promotes the use of common sense in evaluating ideas and values. Pragmatism is a philosophical school that opposes idealism, the belief that truth is found in concepts and ideas alone.
In general, pragmatism is a flexible philosophy that can be applied to many different situations. For example, a pragmatic approach to education might encourage teachers to focus on what works in the classroom rather than sticking with traditional, out-of-date methods. Pragmatism is also applied to language and communication, as it considers how a speaker conveys information based on the cultural norms of their society.
Unlike semantics, which is concerned with the abstract interpretation of words and sentences, pragmatics is focused on what those words actually mean. For example, a student might ask a friend how to pronounce the name of a town in Latin. A friend might respond, “It’s pronounced ‘Fagmati.'”
The study of pragmatics is a vital part of language instruction, because it helps students understand how their spoken and written words are meaningful. It is also an important part of a cultural immersion program, as it allows students to recognize how other cultures communicate using linguistic idioms.
The pragmatics of a language are closely related to the philosophy of pragmatism, so the two often go hand-in-hand. This is especially true of the pragmatics of grammar and vocabulary, which are both considered essential components of a linguistic analysis.
Although some scholars are concerned that the emphasis on convention versus context in pragmatics detracts from the rigorous philosophy of pragmatism, the most recent developments in semantics have permitted a more unified approach to the discipline.
Because the classroom is a social environment where learners experiment with different ways of communicating, it is a good place to introduce and practice pragmatics. For example, in the Forum article “Pragmatic Activities for the Speaking Classroom,” Joseph Siegel explains how to teach pragmatics through an activity on request scenarios. The teacher presents several different scenarios and asks the students how they would make a request in each situation. The teacher then reviews the responses with the students to help them understand the underlying pragmatic principles at work. Alternatively, teachers can incorporate pragmatic instruction into content in their textbooks. For example, when teaching about apologies, an instructor might add in a lesson on pragmatics, as well.