Entry requirements

120 credits. 90 credits in a language subject.

Learning outcomes

Upon completing the course students will be able to:

• Accurately define the core pragmatic phenomena covered in the course,
• Identify pragmatic phenomena in language data (spoken, written, digital, scripted) and justify analyses with evidence (supporting claims with data, considering alternative interpretations, applying theoretical terms),
• Analyse how meaning is conveyed and inferred in context, including the roles of common ground, relevance, and interactional goals in shaping what is communicated beyond what is explicitly said,
• Reflect on pragmatic phenomena in language data by explaining how they influence face, interactional alignment, social accountability, and potential misunderstanding,
• Summarize and integrate research sources in pragmatics using appropriate academic conventions, including reliable presentation of data.

Content

Pragmatics studies how meaning is constructed in context, and how what we mean often goes beyond what words literally encode owing to phenomena such as implicature and indirect speech acts. While linguistic forms, from morphemes and words to larger constructions, provide a basis for interpretation, communicated meaning emerges through how those forms are used in context and how their functions are inferred by interlocutors.

This course traces the journey of meaning from the micro-level, investigating how expressions like ‘here’ or ‘then’ anchor us in time and space, to macro-phenomena such as metapragmatic awareness and the complexities of cross-cultural interaction. As a result, we will establish how linguistic form, social norms, and cognitive inference shape how we actually communicate with each other.

Instruction

Group sessions. Instruction, class discussions, and examinations are in English. All teaching materials are in English.

Assessment

Students are examined through classroom group presentations and a written exam. Grades are Fail, Pass, or Pass with Distinction.

Students who fail a regular examination will be offered a make-up examination within a reasonable period of time after the regular examination.

Students who fail an examination twice have the right to apply to the head of the department for permission to change examiners or examination forms.

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator.

Other regulations

If the curriculum or the course literature for a course is changed, students have the right to be examined on the original curriculum and course literature on three occasions during the three following terms. After these three opportunities, the right normally expires.

Transitional provisions

Please contact the student counsellor for transitional regulations in connection with changes in the curriculum.