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Pragmatics

  • In: Encyclopedia of Identity
  • Edited by: Ronald L. Jackson II & Michael A. Hogg
  • Subject:Self & Identity, Identity, Self & Identity

The discipline of linguistics is classically divided according to three distinct fields of inquiry. First, there is syntax: the study of grammar, or the rules of proper sentence construction. Second, there is semantics: the study of meaning, or conceptual content. Third, there is pragmatics: the study of language use, or the relationship between speakers and words in social contexts. Both syntax and semantics seek to explicate their respective subject matter without reference to social, cultural, and historical ...

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