Pragmatics and Speech Acts

Pragmatics and Social Cognition

In this course, Dr Vittorio Tantucci (University of Lancaster) explores how language is used to shape our social identity. We begin with an introduction to pragmatics and the concept of speech acts. In the second module, we consider linguistic implicatures using theory of mind and intersubjectivity. In the third, we look at the concept of positive and negative face and how language delivery affects our understanding of people's politeness. In the fourth, we discuss the concept of reciprocity. Finally, in the fifth, we look at complex imitation and resonance.

Pragmatics and Speech Acts

In this module, we introduce the concept of pragmatics and speech acts, focusing especially on: (i) pragmatics as the study of language in context, (ii) John Austen's idea that a speech act both presents information and performs an action, and (iii) the three aspects of a speech act: locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary.