Pragmatics

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Deixis

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Words or phrases that require context to fully understand their meaning. Example: The word 'here' is deictic. If someone says, 'Put the book here,' the meaning of 'here' depends on where the speaker is pointing.

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Speech Acts

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The actions performed through speaking, such as requesting, apologizing, or promising. Example: Saying, 'Can you open the window?' is a request; 'I promise I’ll be there on time' is a promise.

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Politeness Theory

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The study of how people use language to maintain social harmony, often through strategies like hedging or mitigation. Example: Saying, 'Would you mind passing the salt?' instead of just 'Pass the salt' is an example of using politeness strategies to maintain respect.

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Maxims of Conversation

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Guidelines for effective communication proposed by Grice, including Quantity (don’t say too much or too little), Quality (don’t lie), Relation (be relevant), and Manner (be clear). Example: In the conversation: Speaker A: 'What’s the weather like?' Speaker B: 'It’s cold outside.' Speaker B follows the Maxim of Relation, keeping the answer relevant.

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Implicature

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What is suggested in an utterance, though not explicitly stated (based on Grice’s theory). Example: 'She’s wearing a nice dress, but I think it’s a bit too much for a barbecue.' Here, the implicature is that the dress is too fancy for the occasion, even though it’s not directly said.

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Presupposition

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Information assumed to be true or taken for granted in a conversation. Example: 'Have you stopped playing video games?' assumes the person was playing video games at some point.

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Convergence

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The process by which people adapt their speech to become more similar to others, often to show solidarity. Example: If two friends start using similar slang or informal phrases when talking to each other, they are converging their speech.

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Divergence

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The process of making one's speech more distinct or different from others, often to emphasize social distance or identity. Example: A person speaking in a formal tone at a casual party to show that they want to maintain distance might be diverging from the group’s informal tone.

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Face Threatening Acts (FTA)

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Actions or utterances that could potentially damage someone’s social 'face' (self-image). Example: Telling someone, 'That was a really bad presentation,' is a face-threatening act because it threatens the person’s self-image or dignity.

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Facework

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The strategies used to maintain or repair one’s social face, often involving politeness or mitigation. Example: If someone says, 'I didn’t like your idea, but I think you’re very creative,' they’re using facework to soften the criticism and protect the person's dignity.