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 Pragmatics 

Pragmatics and learning

 Pragmatics is defined as a part of linguistics that focuses its study on the relationship between language, speakers and the situations in which communication takes place. It covers all those fields that are not linguistic as such, but which interfere in communication.

Importance of pragmatics in learning

 Learning a language is influenced by various factors that need to be understood and learned in order to develop communication, both written and oral. As social beings and with previous experiences that influence thoughts and understanding, situations arise in which not only the statement to be transmitted matters, but also all the information that is provided through gestures, intonation, the place in which it is produced. the message, experiences of the interlocutors, etc. This gives rise to the pragmatics of language, an area of study that takes into account the context, the interlocutors, the communicative intention or the social norms when we send a message. 

Thanks to the knowledge of pragmatics, situations are better understood in which, before a single statement, the final message received is not the same for all people, since each one will carry out their interpretation. For example, “how well you cook!” is a positive message towards someone who knows how to cook

How pragmatics is culturally influential

 Interculturality as an analytical approach, as a political commitment, understood in its broadest sense, is increasingly accepted in many countries, since it proposes a proposal for horizontal dialogue that is enriching and desirable between different cultures. 

Indeed, in this era of globalization, the intercultural proposal is very seductive, since it starts from the premise that language and culture are an inseparable pairing, which gives individuals a feeling of identity belonging.

Techniques to develop pragmatic competence

Pragmatic competence is one more step: it is developed with the appropriate relationship with the interlocutors of the discourse and the context where the communication occurs. In this case, we not only look at what is said and how it is said, but we also think about who says it, to whom they say it and why they say it. Being competent from a pragmatic point of view means adjusting what we say to the circumstances and the interlocutors.

Examples

 Pragmatism asserts that the human mind is a kind of tool that must be used to solve problems, and knowledge is obtained by overcoming those problems. Or put another way, the human mind is not destined to know the philosophical truth or to investigate, it simply exists to adapt as best as possible to the moment and the environment. In some cases we can associate pragmatism with “being practical”. Ideals are relegated and utility is prioritized, effectiveness at a precise moment

 Example1: A student likes philosophy very much, but he chooses to study economics because he will have more options to find a better paying job. 

Example 2: The inhabitants of a country are starving. The government decides to deforest an area of their country to feed them. This area will take years to become productive again, but the temporary famine is solved. 

Example 3:A man can't stand his mother-in-law, nor the nonsense she says. But he knows that if he argues with his mother-in-law and tells her what he thinks, his wife will be angry with him, so he chooses to swallow his opinions and keep quiet to avoid problems.