Semantics vs. Pragmatics

Semantics vs. Pragmatics

1. Semantics

   • Is a discipline in linguistics that analyses the meaning of words in the language
   • Does not take
     • context into consideration
   • it is only concerned with grammar and vocabulary and conceptual meaning of a word
   • What that particular expression means in a very general sense.

2. Pragmatics

   • Analyses the context in addition to grammar, vocabulary and conceptual meaning. Instead of examining what the expression means
   • Field studies what the speaker means in using a certain word or expression
   • considers the context. Factors:
   • focus on language use.

3. Differences

   • MEANING
     • Is a branch of linguistics concerned with the meaning of morphemes, words, phrases and sentences and their relation.
     • Is a branch of linguistics concerned with the use of language in different contexts and the ways in which people produce and comprehend meanings through language.
   • USE
     • Literal meaning
     • People use language- social language
   • SENTENCES
   • UTTERANCE
     • The meaning of a sentence remains constant whenever a certain expression
       • In semantics are acted in which an agent utters a linguistic expression, like other events, occur at times and locations.
     • Examine the context and what the speaker is trying to imply
       • Pragmatics deals with utterances, by which we will mean specific events, the intentional acts of speakers at times and places, typically involving language.
   • SENTENCE MEANING
     • A sentence is an abstract entity: a string of words divorced from non-linguistic context, as opposed to an utterance
     • Is a group of words that express a specific thought: to capture it, we need to understand how words relate to another word
   • SPEAKER´S MEANING
     • Speaker meaning is generally defined in pragmatics in terms of the speaker's intentions.
     • Speaker meaning in semantics refers to the meaning that is intended by the speaker.
   • the key difference between semantics and pragmatics is the fact that semantics is context independent whereas pragmatic is context dependent.
   • RULES AND PRINCIPLES
     • In pragmaticprinciples is the encompasses phenomena including implicature, speech acts, relevance and conversation
     • The principle of semantics is the meaning of a whole, is a function only of the meanings of its (syntactic) parts together with the manner in which these parts were combined.
     • Pragmatic rules tell us what uses and interpretations of a message are appropriate in a given context, and the coordinated management of meaning
     • In semantics the most important rule of language to govern because it gives the word a specific meaning. This way words can be used by most people

4. Example:

   • I’m so hungry I could eat a elefant
     • It's a piece of cake