Pragmatics by George Yule
The communication-pragmatic revolution in linguistics diverted the attention of scientists from studying the internal features of language to functional aspects, the manifestation of language in the process of human communication. The term "pragmatics" itself arose only in the middle of the XX, which entailed a huge number of scientific works devoted to this field of linguistics.
George Yule, author of the manual, a widely known linguist in the UK. His book The Study of Language published in 1985 was a bestseller. It is still read and used at lectures by professors and students all over the world. It is safe to say that the book, which came out of the pen of such a famous author, cannot disappoint.
Introducing the theory of pragmatics to the reader, the author identifies four main problems investigated within the framework of this science: what is the meaning of the statement by the addressee, how the addressee, what is the influence of context on communication, what factors influence the choice of information transmitted in the process of communication, perceives this message.
The author devotes special attention to deixis theories and its types. Behind the unusual term is a rather simple phenomenon - the use of language expressions and other signs, which can be interpreted only by referring to the physical coordinates of the communicative act. Here is the example given by the author. Imagine a young couple, Jim and Ann. Jim informs Ann that he will put the keys in the kitchen locker with the phrase "I 'll put this here." Without explanation, the reader will never guess what "it" is and where "here" is. This is the essence of deixis - only knowledge of context will help us interpret the text.
Given the novelty of science, the reader may be lost in the abundance of unfamiliar terms - reference, inference, presupposition, hedging... The explanations given by the author in the glossary at the end of the textbook will help to understand them.