of teaching, their knowledge of their teaching subject (e.g. English), and
their personal beliefs about teaching and learning.
see teacher cognition, pedagogical content knowledgepragmalinguisticsn
the interface between linguisticsand pragmatics, focusing on the
linguistic means used to accomplish pragmatic ends. For example, when a
learner asks “How do I make a compliment (or a request, or a warning) in
this language?”, this is a question of pragmalinguistics knowledge. This can
be contrasted with sociopragmaticsand sociopragmatic knowledge, which
concern the relationship between social factors and pragmatics. For example,
a learner might need to know in what circumstances it is appropriate to
make a compliment in the target language and which form would be most
appropriate given the social relationship between speaker and hearer.
pragmatic competencen
being able to use language appropriately according to context (taking into
account such complexities as social distance and indirectness) in order to
accomplish one’s communicative goals.
see also communicative competence, pragmalinguistics,
sociopragmatics
pragmatic errorn
see error
pragmatic failuren
a communicative failure that occurs when the pragmatic force of a message
is misunderstood, for example, if an intended apology is interpreted as an
excuse.
pragmaticsn pragmaticadj
the study of the use of language in communication, particularly the relation-
ships between sentences and the contexts and situations in which they are
used. Pragmatics includes the study of:
ahow the interpretation and use of utterances depends on knowledge of
the real world
bhow speakers use and understand speech acts
c how the structure of sentences is influenced by the relationship between
the speaker and the hearer.
Pragmatics is sometimes contrasted with semantics, which deals with mean-
ing without reference to the users and communicative functions of sentences.
see also usage
pragmatics