Science topic

Pragmatics - Science topic

Pragmatics is a subfield of linguistics which studies the ways in which context contributes to meaning.
Questions related to Pragmatics
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
3 answers
could anyone of you help me to find one or more systematic review articles in the field of pragmatics especially politeness, speech act and rapport management strategies?
Relevant answer
Answer
Here are some useful bibliography:
Cutting J. 2007. Pragmatics and Discourse: a resource book for students.
London: Routledge. 2nd Edition. (§ A3.3-A3.7; A5.3-A6.6)
Boxer D. & Pickering L. 1995. ‘Problems in the presentation of speech acts in
ELT materials the case of complaints’. ELT Journal 49/1:44-58
Schiffrin D. 1994. Approaches to Discourse. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. (Chapters 3 & 6)
Austin J 1962,1975 How to Do Things with Words London etc.: Oxford University Press
Cameron R & Williams J 1997 Sentence to ten cents: a case study of relevance and communicative success in nonnative-native speaker interactions in a medical setting Applied Linguistics Vol. 18, No. 4: 415-445.
Brown P & Levinson S 1987 Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage Cambridge, New York, etc.: Cambridge University Press also in slightly shorter form as: Universals in language usage: politeness phenomena. In Goody N (ed.) 1978 Questions and Politeness CUP
Fasold R 1990 The Sociolinguistics of Language Cambridge, Mass. & Oxford: Blackwell Chapters 5 and 6.
Grice P 1989 Studies in the Way of Words Cambridge, Mass. & London: Harvard University Press Chapter 2 also in Cole P & Morgan J L (eds.) 1969 1989Syntax and Semantics 3: Speech Acts Academic Press
Searle J R 1969 Indirect Speech Acts. In Cole P & Morgan J L (eds.) Syntax and Semantics 3: Speech Acts Academic Press
Thomas J (1983) Cross-cultural pragmatic failure' Applied Linguistics Vol. 4 No. 2: 91-112
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
1 answer
education teachers influence the effectiveness of their teaching methods and the sports performance of their students?
This question invites members of the community to explore and share their experiences, research and opinions on the relationship between pragmatism in teaching and results in the field of sports. In addition, it allows to address aspects such as educational strategies, lesson planning and the impact on the development of sport skills, which can enrich the debate and generate new perspectives on the topic.
Relevant answer
Answer
This is a very interesting question. Indeed, it is essential to consider and assess these learning styles, since each person has one or more ways of acquiring knowledge. To identify our learning styles, a useful tool is the CHAEA Questionnaire by Honey-Alonso (1994), designed for people from the age of 9 years, I usually use it in the REAPSES METHOD.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
6 answers
Discourse analysis and pragmatics are two areas in linguistics. The borders between them are, in some cases, vague and mysterious.
Relevant answer
Answer
Discourse Analysis is a research for studying written or spoken language in relation to its social context. It focuses on how you say it rather than what you say. Ex: The chair of governors think.. . We understand that "chair" refers to the person who presides over a governing body.
Pragmatic is focuses on how we understand the hidden meanings in what people say. It's about the unspoken rules of conversation. Ex: Do you have the time? We understand that it means “Could you tell me the time?” The implied meaning is that the speaker wants to know the current time.
So you can think like; Pragmatics is like studying a single word in a sentence. Discourse Analysis is like studying the entire sentence and how it fits into the paragraph.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
11 answers
That's a very pragmatic but also as well theoretical (even philosophy one) question: what is the most fundamental didactics' object? What do we deal with when trying describe, interrogate or improve something in education? For last decads we have been using different conceptualization, including "educational technology", "learning moments", "piece of educational process", or just "educational situation", but there's a feeling, that all these conceptualization are not proper...
Last week i delivered some report at the Conference, devoted to teaching Pedagogy for non-Educators in the Higher Education, and focused at the "onthodidactics experience". May it be correct, or how it would be substituted? (the presentation of that report is available here:
Relevant answer
Answer
The fundamental concept would have to be understanding, both on the teacher's and the learner's part. The teacher would have to understand the material to be imparted, the goals to be accomplished and how to recognize success in that respect, the receptivity and ability of the student. The student would have to understand the intentions of the teacher, understand the material, what is required of him during the learning process and after. (This list is not exhaustive.) Reciprocal understanding should be involved in every aspect.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
3 answers
I want to know how translators adapt legal concepts and terminologies to ensure they are contextually appropriate, culturally relevant, and functionally accurate in the target language.
Relevant answer
Answer
No problem at all Nurhayati Nurhayati
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
3 answers
Body language and tone of voice augment actual words
Speech acts, conversational maxims of Grice, implicature
Pragmatics
Pragmatics is a subfield of linguistics that studies how context influences the interpretation of meaning in language. It goes beyond the literal meaning of words to understand how language is used in real-life situations.
Speech Acts
Speech acts are communicative actions performed through language, such as making statements, asking questions, giving commands, making promises, and more. J.L. Austin and John Searle are two prominent figures in this theory. Speech acts can be categorized into:
- Locutionary Acts: The act of producing sounds and words.
- Illocutionary Acts: The intention behind the utterance (e.g., requesting, promising).
- Perlocutionary Acts: The effect on the listener (e.g., persuading, frightening).
Grice's Conversational Maxims
H.P. Grice proposed four conversational maxims that guide effective communication:
1. Maxim of Quantity: Provide the right amount of information—not too little, not too much.
2. Maxim of Quality: Be truthful and do not provide false or misleading information.
3. Maxim of Relation: Be relevant and stay on topic.
4. Maxim of Manner: Be clear, brief, and orderly; avoid ambiguity.
Implicature
Implicature refers to what is suggested in an utterance, even if not explicitly stated. Grice introduced the concept to explain how listeners can infer additional meaning based on the context and the conversational maxims. There are two main types:
- Conventional Implicature: Meaning that is tied to specific words or phrases (e.g., "but" implies contrast).
- Conversational Implicature: Meaning derived from context and conversational principles (e.g., inferring "there is no milk" from "the store is closed").
These concepts help us understand the intricate ways in which meaning is constructed and interpreted in communication.
Relevant answer
Answer
Discourse analysis, Pragmatics, Stylistics, and Academic writing (especially ESL Academic writing)
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
3 answers
I am exploring the intersection of pragmatics and artificial intelligence, focusing on how AI can handle the complexity of speech acts, such as requests, promises, or commands, in multilingual contexts. The challenge lies in AI systems accurately interpreting the intended meaning behind speech acts, which often involves context, cultural norms, and implicit understanding—factors not easily reducible to simple linguistic rules. Additionally, generating appropriate speech acts in a target language requires a nuanced understanding of the pragmatic rules of that language. I am interested in approaches, models, or algorithms that enhance AI's ability to manage these aspects of communication, particularly in translation systems and virtual assistants. How can AI improve in recognizing and generating pragmatically accurate responses across different languages and cultural contexts? Any case studies, research, or practical examples would be greatly appreciated.
Relevant answer
Answer
الأمر متوقف على قاعدة البيانات النصية الواردة ، والتي يجب أن تكون بيانات لغوية ضخمة، كما أن تقنية التعلم العميق جعلت إمكانية فهم اللغة في سياقاتها المختلفة ممكنة إلى حد بعيد، يماثل استعمال البشر للغاتهم في مجتمعاتهم. يكفي أن نحرج برمجيات اللغة. بالسياقات الخاصة ليتعلم البرنامج خوارزميات جديدة تمكنه من تقدم باهر في فهم وتأويل الأقوال اللغوية... أظن حتى برنامج الذكاء الاصطناعي يعرف مشكلته في إدراك أبعاد الكلام البشري، ويرى أن التعلم الآلي العميق سيحسن من أدائه لاحقا.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
4 answers
Context of situation remains the top serious factor that decides what to say, where and when.
Relevant answer
Answer
I am not sure "govern" is the absolute correct term, but many who follow more Functionally-based frameworks would suggest that Pragmatic considerations are certainly important in shaping utterances. Functional Discourse Grammar (FDG), for instance, is a top-down theoretical framework which begins with Pragmatics and proceeds through Semantics, Morpho-syntax and Phonology (and all their interactions) in reaching a phonetic realization. You could check out some basic readings on FDG at https://fdg.humanities.uva.nl/Home_index.asp.
Doubtless others can suggest additional resources in other frameworks.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
4 answers
What is an example of a pragmatic implicature?
Relevant answer
Answer
To pragmatically analyze material, start by identifying the context, including the situation, participants, and cultural factors that influence meaning. Examine the speaker’s intentions through speech acts and consider the illocutionary force, or intended meaning, and the perlocutionary effect, or the desired listener response. Analyze power dynamics, politeness strategies, and how language reflects relationships. Use Grice’s maxims to assess if the speaker follows principles like relevance and clarity, and look for implicatures, or implied meanings beyond the literal words. Study deictic expressions for time and place references, pragmatic markers that guide conversation flow, and how speakers adjust language to suit their audience. Finally, evaluate whether the communication was pragmatically successful by comparing the speaker’s intended meaning with the listener’s interpretation.@
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
4 answers
Hi everyone. I'm actually doing a study on the teaching of sociolinguistic competence. I'd like to know what you think of research on the area of sociolinguistic competence. I noticed that more people focus specifically on speech acts. I understand that speech acts also falls under pragmatic competence. I have an opinion that maybe people prefer to do studies on speech acts (and not other aspects of sociolinguistic competence) because they are more easily measurable and observable. What do you think?
Relevant answer
Answer
Hi, that's a great question! You're absolutely right in observing that much of the research on sociolinguistic competence tends to focus on speech acts. One reason for this focus could indeed be that speech acts are more easily measurable and observable in controlled environments. Speech acts, as a component of pragmatic competence, often have clearer boundaries and can be studied through concrete examples of language use, such as requests, apologies, or commands, making them more accessible for empirical studies.
In contrast, other aspects of sociolinguistic competence—such as understanding and applying cultural norms, levels of formality, politeness strategies, and variations in language use across different social groups—can be more challenging to assess. These aspects are often more implicit and deeply intertwined with cultural knowledge, making it harder to design studies with quantifiable outcomes. Researchers might prefer speech acts because they can more easily collect data through surveys, role-plays, or discourse analysis, and draw conclusions based on observable patterns.
That being said, there is growing interest in the broader aspects of sociolinguistic competence, especially in multicultural and multilingual settings where effective communication goes beyond just performing speech acts appropriately. Research on how learners navigate social norms, use language appropriately in varying contexts, and develop an understanding of sociocultural nuances could provide rich insights that complement the studies on speech acts.
It would be interesting to see more studies focused on these broader, harder-to-measure aspects of sociolinguistic competence, as they play a crucial role in language proficiency and real-world communication.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
1 answer
Employing a pragmatic inquiry research design, looking for published research using this method, employing qualitative research data collection methods of semi-structured interview and focus groups for example rather than mixed methods.
Relevant answer
Survey research is scientific work that relies on collecting and analyzing data to reach non-generalizable results. This type of research is considered the basis for progress in many fields, from the natural sciences to the social sciences and humanities.
Stages of designing practical survey research:
Defining the research problem:
Clarity of the problem: The research problem must be specific, specific and measurable.
Importance: The problem must be of scientific or practical importance.
Feasibility: The problem must be computer and real within the best framework available.
Formulating research hypotheses:
Hypothesis: It is a provisional answer to the research question.
Clarity of hypothesis: The hypothesis must be clear, specific, and testable.
Relationship between variables: The hypothesis must link two or more variables.
Choosing a research methodology:
Quantitative approach: It relies on collecting digital data and analyzing it statistically.
Qualitative approach: It relies on collecting descriptive data and analyzing it analytically.
Mixed approach: combines quantitative and qualitative approaches.
Determine the study population and sample:
Study population: It is the whole population to which we want to generalize the research results.
Sample: It is a part of the population that is selected for study.
Sample selection method: The sample selection method must be random or intentional depending on the nature of the study.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
3 answers
“Emoción en la interacción digital: de los recursos lingüísticos a los emojis, memes y stickers”
Pedido de contribuciones
Envío de las propuestas: hasta el 15 de julio de 2019
Notificación de contribuciones aceptadas: 31 de octubre de 2019
La Revista de Estudios del Discurso Digital (REDD) invita a investigadores que trabajen en lengua española a enviar manuscritos para su segundo número, cuyo tema central es “Emoción en la interacción digital: de los recursos lingüísticos a los emojis, memes y stickers”. El objetivo de este número especial es atender a diferentes recursos y estrategias que los usuarios emplean para canalizar la expresividad en las interacciones digitales (escritas y orales). Desde los primeros recursos textuales que se emplearon (abreviaciones, mayúsculas y minúsculas alternadas y otras estrategias de escritura creativa) a los diferentes recursos multimodales que las interfaces ofrecieron, los usuarios han desarrollado un repertorio de estrategias pragmáticas para canalizar sus intenciones comunicativas.
En este número se priorizarán los trabajos de alta calidad que describan y analicen algunas de las siguientes temáticas en relación a una o más plataformas (redes sociales, correo electrónico, etc.) y/o tipos textuales (textos breves, chats, post/comentarios, mensajería instantánea, etc.):
1. Evolución diacrónica de los recursos expresivos.
2. Usos y funciones de emojis, memes, stickers, videos, etc. en la interacción digital.
3. Recursos expresivos en la interacción digital oral (videos, videollamadas, audios).
Los artículos podrán ser tanto reflexiones teóricas como análisis empírico de un conjunto de datos. En el caso de que utilicen corpus, estos deberán ser recolectados bajo protocolos éticos que salvaguarden la identidad de los interlocutores. Por otro lado, y dado que el principal interés de REDD es la lengua española, se valorarán los artículos que atiendan a la riqueza y variación inter e intralingüística del español empleado en las interacciones digitales. Asimismo, se invita a todos los interesados publicar en la revista a enviar propuestas para el segundo número de contenido general. El plazo de recepción de aportaciones para REDD se encuentra abierto durante todo el año.
Indicaciones para enviar manuscritos
Los manuscritos deberán ser enviados por vía electrónica mediante el Portal de Revistas UVa (Universidad de Valladolid, España), en la siguiente dirección: https://revistas.uva.es/index.php/redd.
Los artículos tendrán una extensión máxima de 15.000 palabras (incluyendo tablas, gráficos, ilustraciones y bibliografía) y respetar las normas editoriales de la revista. Se deberá enviar maquetado en la plantilla de REDD. Todos los textos que cumplan estos requisitos serán revisados por pares ciegos. La decisión de publicación será comunicada a los autores en un plazo máximo de tres meses.
Para informaciones adicionales, enviar un correo electrónico a revista.discurso.digital@uva.es
Relevant answer
Answer
هل يمكن الحديث عن بناء نظام جديد للكتابة، فالامور التعبيرية العاطفية والنفسية والتفاعلية ناقصة جدا وفق ما تتضمنه منظومة علامات الترقيم العالمية . !
ألا يمكن أن نلاحظ أن علامة تعجب مزدوجة غير كافية للتعبير عن الصدمة!! وعلامات تعجب متتالية لا يمكنها التعبير عن الذهول!!!!!!!!
نحن بحاجة لنهضة كتابية رقمية وليس مجرد التعديل والترميم .
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
5 answers
Wilson, Deidre and Dan Sperber (1995; 2004) suggest the Applied Pragmatics Theory while Pennycook (2001) develops the theory of Critical Applied Linguistics. I suggested the Critical Applied Pragmatics in my PhD thesis. Many scientists ask me about what it actually standsfor. I therefore, need more information about it, if any, beside my reference to both pragmatic knowledge use in solving discourse meaning problems and new pragmatic items identification and further appropriate theorization.
Relevant answer
Answer
PRAGMATICS AND HUMOR
It is amazing how many ways we have of displaying and presenting various types of lexical and pragmatic information. These displays and presentations are at various levels of abstraction, detail and presentation medium. They are chosen to represent time, space, significance, and other relative differences.
Consider the following: Advertisement, Audio-Visual Aid, Bar Graph, Bell-Shaped Curve, Blood Lines, Caricature, Cartoon, Category, Cause-Effect Line, Chain of Command, Chinese Boxes, Drawing, Family Tree, Floor Plan, Flow Chart, Hierarchy, Map, Matrix, Musical Score, Outline, Photograph, Diagram (e.g. Reed Kellogg), Set, Sketch, Time Line, Tree Diagram, Venn Diagram, etc. This lexical and pragmatic information can be presented over various mediums. Consider the following: Book, Card Catalogue, Catalogue, Chalk Board, Cell Phone, Internet, Journal, Magazine, Movie, PowerPoint, Radio, Skype, Teleconference, Telephone, Video Stream, Webinar, White Board, Zoom, etc. And information can be organized alphabetically, numerically, sequentially, spatially, etc.
Lexical items can also be semantically weighted, and related to other lexical items in various ways, and these weightings and relationships can be quantified (always, usually, sometimes, seldom, never, etc. I believe that the most important feature of Linguistics Pragmatics is that it is unlike all of the other levels of linguistics (Phonology, Morphology, Syntax, and Semantics) by being a non-linear approach. Kenneth Pike said that language can be viewed as Particles, as Waves (assimilation or dissimilation), or as Field. It is only Pragmatics that looks at language as Field (see above).
Another very important aspect of Pragmatics is the developing field of Script-Model Grammar. Victor Raskin is a linguist, and linguists tend to deal with one sentence at a time. Script Model Grammar allows linguists to deal with larger texts. Raskin talks about the structure of a joke by saying that everything in the set-up of the joke is ambiguous but primed in the direction of the mundane. What the punch line of a joke does is to change the priming of the joke from the mundane to the dramatic, or scatological, etc. At this point the audience is able to see that the entire joke—set-up and punch line—have been ambiguous, and that the punch line has just changed the priming. Because the punch line allows the audience to see all of the ambiguity of the joke (both mundane and dramatic), the punch line is very epiphanal.
Using the techniques of Script-Model Grammar as developed by Victor Raskin, Salvatore Attardo and others, develop a number of mundane scripts for your computer, as follows:
Eating at a restaurant
Getting a haircut
Getting dressed in the morning
Going to a concert
Going to a movie
Telling a joke or a story
Traveling by car
Traveling by plane
Traveling by subway
Traveling by train
Etc.
Tell your computer the details of the script in terms of a sequence of behaviors. For example, consider the script of “eating at a restaurant.”
1. You get hungry.
2. You look for a restaurant.
3. You find a restaurant.
4. You walk into the restaurant.
5. You’re seated by someone.
6. The server brings you a menu.
7. You look at the menu.
8. You order your meal.
9. You eat your meal.
10. Someone brings you a bill.
11. You pay the bill.
12. You leave a tip.
13. You leave the restaurant.
But what if one or more of the sequence of behaviors is missing? Or what if one or more behaviors are added to the sequence? The computer can then ask, “Why didn’t he leave a tip? Or “Why did he take his bike into the restaurant?” The computer has been taught how to speculate.
What Victor Raskin did for jokes (small texts), Salvatore Attardo and others did for larger texts (paragraphs, chapters plays, novels, trilogies, etc.). And rather than just dealing with the set-up, the punch-line, and the epiphany of the joke, Attardo developed ways of dealing with double entendre, embodiment, irony, metaphor, metonymy, paradox, parody, sarcasm, satire, synecdoche, allegory, and other types of “language play.” An even more important contribution of Script-Model Grammar, is its applications to the field of Artificial Intelligence. This brings us to the contributions of Christian Hempelmann, Anton Nijholt, Dallin Oaks, Leo Obrst, Maxim Petrenko, Graeme Ritchie, Julia Taylor, Willibald Ruch, Oliviero Stock, Carlo Strapparava, Igor Suslov, and Tony Veale.
Note that Noam Chomsky’s Generative Transformational Grammar has now become Deep Learning in the field of computers. Computers are now able to generate both language and images by receiving input from the entire internet, recombining this information in very sophisticated ways, and producing computer-generated material that is the same as human-generated material, only better. It’s very scary.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
2 answers
I am doing a study on analyzing and interpreting the sociopragmatic features of approximately 350 Facebook posts shared by Kurdish speakers in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. For presenting the different pragmatic intentions or associative meanings behind Kurdish speakers’ posts, the collected corpus will be categorized into social, economic, political, health and religious topics, which will be translated into English for the purpose of study. Also, for assuring the seriousness and danger of COVID-19 among Kurdish speakers, a questionnaire of five questions has been created on www.forms.app and sent to 1185 participants via SNSs, namely Viber and Facebook messenger.
Relevant answer
Answer
فتح حوار مع صاحب المنشور، أو مراسلة خاصة للأفراد عينة الدراسة، وقراءة حقيقة ما يقومون بنشره من حقائق ، واساليبهم اللغوية في العرض والإقناع.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
2 answers
My Research Topic is Empowering Consumers Through The Metaverse: Exploring How FMCG Brands Are Adapting To Enhance Your Shopping Experience.
Research Objectives:
• To investigate the opportunities and challenges presented by the metaverse for FMCG brands in effectively reaching a diverse global audience.
• To analyse the influence and effectiveness of the metaverse in enhancing FMCG brand engagement with consumers.
Data collection: primary data with questionnaire (closed end).
So depending on the topic my research philosophy will it be pragmatic approach ?
Relevant answer
Answer
ليس من السهولة ضبط مفهوم فلسفة البحث ، لكن يمكن تحديد بعض عامله المحفظة منها:
- أغراض الباحث تتحكم في خيارات البحث
-إمكانات الباحث وقدراته تضع حدود رؤيته
-أدوات البحث ووسائله المتاحة تجعل النتائج متوافقة مع طرائق المعالجة
-استجابة العينة وتعاونها بإمكانها تقديم إضافات جيدة للباحث
ليس شرطا أن نبحث في إطار إشكالية علمية ، فقد نبحث عن سلعة معينة في السوق ، فيتطلب منا هذا فلسفة محددة ننتهجها للوصول لغايتنا. البحث عملية نحتاج إليها في كل خياراتنا الاجتماعية قبل الاحتياج إليها في محيط المعرفة والفهم وطلب العلم.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
4 answers
Pragmatics; the speech; Dialogical imperative
Relevant answer
Answer
هذا سؤال جدير بالاهتمام، لطالما غابت معالم المنهج التداولي، وتم إظهارها في صورة مفاهيم نمطية. التداولية تهتم بالمحادثة من حيث نجاحها في تحقيق الغرض. ثم البحث عن العناصر المؤثرة وإهمال الاعتيادية. باختصار نتساءل: ما الذي جعل المحادثة مؤثرة؟
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
2 answers
Employing a pragmatic inquiry research design, looking for published research using this method, employing qualitative research data collection methods of semi-structured interview and focus groups for example rather than mixed methods.
Relevant answer
Answer
I believe you are using Bowen's book and framework. With that said, qualitative research can involve multiple sources, such as interviews, focus groups, observations, field notes, screening instruments, etc. Though some researchers find "pragmatic inquiry research design" as a specific term from Bowen and some related work, look broadly at qualitative research using the sources you listed, BUT, always look at your purpose and aims to see if your design answers your question and provides data adequacy.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
4 answers
Pragmatics refers to the study of how language is used in context and how meaning is influenced by social and cultural factors. To what extend language pragmatic effect the musician's choices, expressions, and interactions in the course of music creation?
Relevant answer
Answer
I looked at your thesis. it is wonderful. Are there any English version of your research?
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
4 answers
كيفية التحليل التداولي للنصوص والآليات المعتمدة في ذلك
Relevant answer
Answer
Several mechanisms are employed in pragmatic analysis to understand how speakers or writers communicate effectively. Key mechanisms include Grice's Maxims (of quality, quantity, relevance and manner), implicature, presupposition, speech acts, conversational implicature, contextual analysis, politeness theory, and relevance theory. These mechanisms help uncover the implicit meaning, intentions, and strategies behind linguistic expressions in texts or spoken discourse.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
4 answers
Misgendering and Deadnaming in Political Speech: can you name/cite any subtle markers or manipulative uses...? Many thanks !
Relevant answer
Answer
Marta A. Karp great springboard! Lots of building blocks ;-) Thank uuuuuu !
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
43 answers
DEFINING THE ONTOLOGY BEHIND PHYSICS (5 Paragraphs, meant for the theoretical approach in physics)
Raphael Neelamkavil, Ph.D., Dr. phil.
In the definition of the ontology of physics (generally as the study of the cosmos), I shall posit the necessity of the highest possible grounds that I find as fundamental for physics and philosophy alike. The reason for these Categories’ (a few universals that apply to all existents, and not merely to all discourses) being meant also for philosophy (especially for the philosophy of science) is that both philosophy and physics have physical existents in common as their object range.
Philosophy additionally has the pure universals of physics within the ambit of study, and both physics and philosophy have different manners of treating their object range. Hence, well-grounded physical foundations cannot do without the most suitable among these universals as its fundamental Categories, selected from among the universals forming part of the objects of philosophy.
Although many physicists and mathematicians may find the following definition of the ontology behind physics queer due to their pragmatic and near-sighted concept of physics (where physical objects are part of their object range, and not their universals / qualities / forms) in a non-grounded manner, I define here ontology for use in physics with the purpose of later elaboration of the various aspects brought forward in the definition.
The Ontology behind physics is (1) the rationally consequent science of the totality of physical existents, their parts, and their sine qua nons, namely, the pure universals (whereas “properties” are the conglomerations of universal qualities) as pertinents of existents and their parts, (2) prioritized as objects in terms of the To Be (Greek, Einai) of Reality-in-total and only thereafter in terms of the to be (einai) of its parts (reality-in-particular), (3) serving to achieve ever better measuremental approximations of the cosmos and its part-systems (4) in terms of the epistemological ideal of Reality-in-total, namely, the theoretically highest possible notion of Reality-in-general, (5) grounded in the unique and exhaustive implications of To Be, namely, Extension and Change, that are the absolutely necessary touchstones of observables and unobservables which exhaust the object range of physics, (6) in properly physical activities that let Reality and realities be measured in term of measuremental and classificational categories that facilitate both experiments and theories equally well.
I have merely used here the highest Ideals of philosophical and scientific thinking, namely, To Be, Reality-in-total, and Reality-in-general. These are not explained here well enough. I have treated them with detailed justifications in my books: Physics without Metaphysics? Categories of Second Generation Scientific Ontology, Frankfurt, 2015, and Gravitational Coalescence Paradox and Cosmogenetic Causality in Quantum Astrophysical Cosmology, 2018, Berlin.
Relevant answer
Answer
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
1 answer
presupposition is one of pragmatic scope
Relevant answer
Answer
It appears, you're referring to the projection problem as it relates to presupposition in pragmatics. Presupposition is indeed a core topic, and the projection problem concerns how presuppositions behave when they are embedded in complex sentences.
For example, consider the sentence "Nasir stopped smoking." This presupposes that Nasir used to smoke. But what happens when this sentence becomes a part of a more complex sentence, such as a conditional: "If Nasir stopped smoking, Een will be happy." Does this larger sentence still carry the presupposition that Nasir used to smoke? Generally, it does. This is where the projection problem arises — determining which presuppositions "project out" to become presuppositions of a larger sentence.
A simple formula to summarize the projection problem would be challenging since it's an intricate issue involving various factors. However, a very simplified version might look something like this:
P(S) = Presupposition of sentence S
If S is a simple sentence, P(S) is straightforward.
If S is a complex sentence (e.g., A and B, A or B, If A then B), P(S) might be affected by the individual presuppositions of A and B and their relation in S.
However, this formula is an oversimplification and doesn't capture all the intricacies involved in the projection problem. To genuinely understand it, one would need to delve into specific examples, linguistic theories, and contexts in which presuppositions arise and either project or don't.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
1 answer
Does anyone know if dog whistles are categorized as a topic belonging to the area of pragmatics?
Relevant answer
Answer
I just ran across the following:
1. In Research Gate, this article: DOI:10.1007/s11229-022-03791-y
2. In Language in Society: article by Ila Nagar 'The language of suppression.' Not a lot of it on dog whistles, but there are references to other works that might be more relevant to your question.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
12 answers
Hello, I am currently working on a research in teaching English as a Foreign Language. It focuses on the effect of deductive and inductive approach in enhancing pragmatic competence, namely using polite requests in English. I would like to use pre-test and post-test design. However, I struggle with finding sources to figure out how long there should be between conducting a pre-test and a post-test when the content of the intervention is "just" polite requesting.
Thank you for any answers and have a nice day!
Relevant answer
Answer
Dear Colleague,
This is a good question!
Since the test is about teaching English as a Foreign Language with the content of the intervention is "just" polite requesting. Attention should be attached to the following two aspects:
(1) Test items type: Is it a test of multiple choice questions or short answer questions? If it is an objective test of 20 or 30 multiple choice questions, the interval may be longer, say, two weeks or so. If it is a test of short answer questions or an essay question, the interval may be shortened to one week;
(2) Test effect
If test effect is put into consideration, the time interval btw pre- and post-test should be no more than 3 days. The reason is simple: during those three days, the general proficiency of the students, statistically, will not have significant changes.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
7 answers
I'm doing research about deixis/deictic and its meanings in pragmatic. I didn't find any journals, books or ppt about pragmatic meanings in deixis, most of it is explained in semantic way, not pragmatic. Are pragmatic meanings in deixis same like speech act classifications? Or we can use implicature theories to determine those pragmatics meanings?
How to determine pragmatic meaning in this dialogue example?
Mother: What do you want for Christmas?
Daughter: I want a violin!
Father: Didn't you want a doll? You said that one week ago.
Daughter: Now I want violin, papa!
If the deixis of that dialogue is you, does that pragmatic meaning is asking the daughter what she wants for Christmas? Or it is semantic means?
Thank you in advance.
Relevant answer
Answer
Anna Rosa There are several resources accessible to learn more about pragmatic meanings in particular. Some probable sources for pragmatic meaning references include:
Journals include Linguistics and Philosophy, Pragmatics and Society, Pragmatics and Cognition, and others.
Works include Stephen C. Levinson's "Pragmatics," Jenny A. Thomas' "Meaning in Interaction: An Introduction to Pragmatics," and "The Handbook of Pragmatics," edited by Laurence R. Horn and Gregory Ward, among others.
Powerpoint slides: Several colleges make their course materials available to the public on their websites. To discover examples, try searching for "pragmatics course slides" or "pragmatics lecture slides".
Of course, these are just a few examples; there are several additional sites that may be beneficial. It is critical to ensure that the sources are reliable.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
3 answers
The Influence of Parental Language Mode on the Relationship between Academic Performance and Disenchantment Rate of Middle School Students.
are there any theories of pragmatics and psychology to help with this topic.
Relevant answer
Answer
Yes, there are theories from both pragmatics and psychology that could be relevant to the topic of the influence of parental language mode on the relationship between academic performance and disenchantment rate of middle school students.
From a pragmatic perspective, one relevant theory is Speech Act theory, which explores the ways in which language is used to perform actions, such as making requests or giving advice. This theory could be useful for examining the ways in which parents use language to communicate with their children about academic performance and disenchantment, and the effects these speech acts have on the students' attitudes and behaviors.
From a psychological perspective, there are several theories that could be relevant, including:
  1. Social Cognitive theory, which emphasizes the role of social and environmental factors in shaping an individual's beliefs and behaviors. This theory could be used to examine the ways in which the language used by parents affects the students' beliefs about their academic abilities and their level of disenchantment with school.
  2. Self-determination theory, which asserts that individuals have basic needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, and that fulfilling these needs leads to greater well-being and motivation. This theory could be used to examine the ways in which parental language mode affects the students' motivation to succeed academically and their level of disenchantment with school.
  3. Attachment theory, which explores the relationship between early experiences with caregivers and later social and emotional development. This theory could be used to examine the ways in which the language used by parents affects the students' attachment to school and their level of disenchantment.
These are just a few examples of theories from pragmatics and psychology that could be relevant to this topic. By incorporating these theories into your research, you can gain a more nuanced understanding of the relationships between parental language mode, academic performance, and disenchantment rate of middle school students.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
154 answers
Gravity has puzzled modern researchers in its inability to be incorporated into the unification models and in its lack of microscipic origin. I proposed a way to call this aim complete by discrediting gravity.
A solution might be to disgard it as force, a path taken by Einstein in GR in 4D.
However, few advanced this path. My idea is that gravity should be seem as a force by convetion, a pragmatically labeled as a force one because systems described by thevpresence of this phenomrnon or effect are equivalent to systems with real forces. This unification of forces is complete.
The New problem is to give rational or justification of this convention. If we stand with GR, we must give reasons the spacetime in presence of mass gives geodesic motion that resembles force-mediated motion in 3D.
There must be a category of phenomena that share many aspects of common force dynamic phenomena but are not genuine.
Also, there must be something unique with spacetime that generates these. Maybe at its macroscipic level some phenomena lead to this behavior, which is pseudodynamics.
Relevant answer
Answer
Without being an expert on the subject, this is my reservation regarding the R.G.
Questions :
- Is it the same to say: "gravity affects time" than to say: "gravity physically affects atomic clocks"?
- Are the periods of pendulum clocks longer because the acceleration due to gravity changes with height or because time lengthens?
- When a ray of light leaves a planet, its wavelength lengthens, because time runs slower or because it loses energy?
My personal answer to all three questions is: gravity affects clocks and wavelengths because they lose energy, not because time changes.
In summary, I think that the relativistic effect of time is NOT because time changes with gravity but that the change in gravitational energy affects the frequencies of clocks and light rays.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
5 answers
Can anyone recommend some papers that can help me get a basic understanding of the research about English pragmatic teaching? Thanks a lot~
Relevant answer
Answer
You can read my articles where I deal with the relationship between language and culture and miscomunication in FL contexts. Culture and language relationship is the main aspect of pragmatics
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
3 answers
How can I find a topic that links grammar to literature or links grammar to language analysis, such as
1,Ellipsis in Literature "select text "
2,The Pragmatic Functions of Modal Verbs in Dostoevsky's " The Dream of a Ridiculous Man"
To do a graduation research ,as a student in the English Department.
Can you suggest topics for me .
with many thanks🌼
Relevant answer
Answer
Hi there! Stylistics uses linguistics to explore literary texts. For example, is the language used in a specific text / corpus what you'd expect or are there aspects that make you think the author was (unwittinglly) conveying some kind of underlying message?
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
7 answers
I am a graduate student at Arizona State University and I am taking an introductory class on research and evaluation in education. We have been asked to get input on the differences between research and evaluation, are they the same thing or do you think they are married in purpose and use? I am an elementary teacher and we are a data driven school. We use the evaluation process to research better options to meet the children on their learning field for maximum success. We also use evaluations to determine if scholars have reached the goals and mastered the information or standards we set. I think that we can take the evidence that is placed before us and use it to build the research data that will give us an idea of what we need to do with our scholars which will then lead to more evaluation. I don't believe they are the same, but they work hand in hand help us gather the evidence as part of both the evidence and the research. I realize that as I learn more I tend to lean towards a pragmatic approach to research. Although my personal definitions are evolving as I learn, I believe that research is the gathering and investigating of information where as evaluating is taking the research and drawing conclusions or using it to direct further research. Again, my own thoughts are growing and changing as I learn and study and your thoughts could add to my understanding, research and evaluation of the information.
I would like to hear from you about what you think is the difference or the same between research and evaluation. Also, what paradigm do you lean towards? Do you recommend any references for education research or evaluations?
Thank you for your thoughts and actions.
Relevant answer
Answer
thank you everyone. I appreciate your feedback.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
20 answers
I am currently studying educational paradigms and I am interested in Pragmatic which seems to be the most helpful in EFL Research.
From an Axiology perspective, Pragmatic "gain knowledge in pursuit of desired ends"(Mertens ,2020,p.11).
I work in an English training school in China. Parents want every effort to be rewarded, but I, as a teacher, want students to learn useful learning skills and strategies. And those are essential to their success.
From an Ontology perspective, Pragmatic" asserts that there is a single reality and that all individuals have their own unique interpretation of reality"(Mertens ,2020,p.11).
Students are so different from each other and they are supposed to have unlike advantages in learning, Some are good at phonics, some are great at reading comprehension and some are skillful at writing. So we should respect and understand every one of them and provide proper help.
From a methodology perspective, Pragmatic "match methods to specific questions and purposes of research"(Mertens ,2020,p.11).
Now I want to work on research for a better teaching method for Chinese students.
I am planning to collect quantitative data, such as length of lessons, length of at-home-review, Star Reading grades before and after learning.
And also I am planning to collect qualitative data, such as students' class behavior, feedback to the learned knowledge, and feedback to the new knowledge.
But I don't think those data are enough for my research and I need more ideas, could you please share your ideas with me? What other data should I collect for my reseach?
Relevant answer
Answer
It is amazing how many ways we have of displaying and presenting various types of lexical and pragmatic information. These displays and presentations are at various levels of abstraction, detail and presentation medium. They are chosen to represent time, space, significance, and other relative differences. Consider the following: Advertisement, Audio-Visual Aid, Bar Graph, Bell-Shaped Curve, Blood Lines, Caricature, Cartoon, Category, Cause-Effect Line, Chain of Command, Chinese Boxes, Drawing, Family Tree, Floor Plan, Flow Chart, Hierarchy, Map, Matrix, Musical Score, Outline, Photograph, Diagram (e.g. Reed Kellogg), Set, Sketch, Time Line, Tree Diagram, Venn Diagram, etc. This lexical and pragmatic information can be presented over various mediums. Consider the following: Book, Card Catalogue, Catalogue, Chalk Board, Cell Phone, Internet, Journal, Magazine, Movie, PowerPoint, Radio, Skype, Teleconference, Telephone, Video Stream, Webinar, White Board, Zoom, etc. And information can be organized alphabetically, numerically, sequentially, spatially, etc. Lexical items can also be semantically weighted, and related to other lexical items in various ways, and these weightings and relationships can be quantified (always, usually, sometimes, seldom, never, etc. How important for you is pragmatics in the field of Teaching English as a Foreign Language?
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
3 answers
Greetings, I am a student enrolled in a research class for Arizona State University, and we are discussing the topic of research and evaluation. For this discussion we are drawing from Mertens (2020) Research and Evaluation in Education and Psychology. While I believe there is a link and they overlap, research is how we find related tops and information, while evaluation is how we add validity. Mertens stated that research is knowing and understanding while evaluation is the applied inquiry process.
I think we use a mix method approach in our research, to see what may be factual and biased and what may be just theory.
Through different approaches, how can we still maintain the discipline of being objective while not falling into a biased opinion, where we only post, follow or research an opinion that we agree with? Out of the for theories, postpositivism, constructivism, transformative and pragmatic, which would be the most effective in being open and unbiased?
Thank you for your time
Relevant answer
Answer
Research is the pathway of passing the knowledge for the readers & the students , which remain a guiding factor for the students in their study & also in their knowledge . Education covers the basic path of the prescribe study matter for which student of higher education may take the advantage of knowledge of research .
This is my personal opinion
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
10 answers
Can anyone recommend any pragmatic articles/research on ELL (ESL) teaching/learning in the K-12 education system? Thanks for any info.
Relevant answer
Answer
Try choosing the topics by the keywords hashtags or the title
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
10 answers
Mixed-methods researchers promote pragmatism as a paradigm by suggesting that it is directly linked to the needs of mixed-methods research. Scholars maintain that pragmatism provides a philosophical foundation for social science research, in general, and mixed-methods research, in particular (Morgan 2014a).
Many researchers still believe that mixed methodology should be done separately.
What is the take on the pragmatic approach where mixed methods adopt the use of both methods using one instrument/tool to collect data at the same time? This will either be QUANT+qual or QUAL+quant.
Relevant answer
Answer
Actually, I do not know that mixed-method has limitations. Thank you for the useful RG link.
Kind Regards,
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
24 answers
RG is an excellent platform for article publicity. But does it pragmatically work? How can we increase the visibility of our published manuscript?
Relevant answer
Answer
No effect
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
2 answers
i wanted to use both quantitative and qualitative data in conducting ex post facto research
Relevant answer
Answer
Being pragmatic is governed by practicality, i.e., collecting data using approaches that best address the research question(s). In ex post facto research (i.e., after-the-fact investigation), used when controlling the treatment variable is infeasible or unacceptable, a pragmatic sequential mixed methods design (Mertens, 2019) could come in handy. In particular, you might consider the exploratory sequential mixed methods design (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2018), in which the qualitative stage is the basis for the quantitative stage. You could go through the study by Killian and Wilkins (2009) to grasp how they implemented the sequential design in their ex post facto study. Full citations are as follows.
Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2018). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (3rded.). SAGE Publications. https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/designing-and-conducting-mixed-methods-research/book241842
Killian, J. E., & Wilkins, E. A. (2009). Characteristics of highly effective cooperating teachers: A study of their backgrounds and preparation. Action in Teacher Education, 30(4), 67–83. https://doi.org/10.1080/01626620.2009.10734453
Mertens, D. M. (2019). Research and evaluation in education and psychology: Integrating diversity with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods (5th ed.). SAGE Publications. https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/research-and-evaluation-in-education-and-psychology/book259357
Good luck,
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
8 answers
The wastes produced at household level become a major problem. What could be the various possible ways to deal with such waste. Really, it is worsening the situation all around the surrounding.
Your reply is appreciated in advance.
Relevant answer
Answer
There are many easy ways to reduce household waste. With a little planning, thought, and creativity, we can significantly reduce our impact on the environment by cutting down on trash. The following link includes a list of 11 easy ways to reduce household trash, kindly check it:
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
19 answers
In case it does, does this mean that a person who acquires this pragmatic competence have communicative competence?
Relevant answer
Answer
Hani: Perhaps the reverse is true: Communicative Competence is one aspect of Pragmatic Competence. Communicative Competence is a linguistic concept, while Pragmatic Competence is a more universal concept. Please check out my PowerPoint relating to "Linguistic Pragmatics."
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
8 answers
I am about conducting a contrastive research study on the pragmatic competence of Yemeni EFL learners by comparing their responses in the speech act of gratitude to the ones made by English native speakers. My question is on the eligibility of using already-published-research data of the native speakers for my research as these native speakers are not reachable. If yes, can you suggest a criteria reference for this procedure?
Relevant answer
Answer
I would determine whether or not the participants consented to the use of their data beyond the study that they originally consented to. Sometimes this means contacting the collecting researcher.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
11 answers
The basic idea behind Systems Theory is, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.". This is a narrow idea and in our complex world with climate change, environmental degradation, and global inequalities. The pragmatic and positivist trend in the world was to oriented research towards explanations and causes, i.e. in-between of input and output, causes and effects. For no-system theoreticians, the idea is to observe systems as forms with enough inner complexity to reduce the external complexities by the means of selections that stabilized meaning. In this context, it is the self-observation of the form that has been investigated as a system. Once again why system theory is developed into a theory of self-organizing systems.
Relevant answer
Answer
Yes and No. It depends on which kind of the system you are dealing with. Some systems are just too huge to model them sufficiently accurately.
I will give you just one simple example. Human cell. Just one living cell has the number of functional parts approxiamtely equal to the number of living people on the Earth. Are we capable to predict the evolution of the humanity in the span of just a few years? Nope. Nada. Zilch.
It is same with a single cell! Not to speak about bodies!
With other systems, it gets even worse: human body, society, state, humanity, ecosystems, the whole Earth's nature, the Umiverse. Is there any escape from this trap made by our inability to evaluate all processes undergoing in the complex system simultaneously? Yes. There is.
By searching for emergent structures in complex systems, we can describe them at different levels. Seems to be easy, right. But it isn't. We have a Russian doll like structure of hard sciences each encompasing just one part of the complexity of the Universe: quantum fields, particles, atoms, molecules, materials, biomolecules, cells, tissues, bodies, ecosystems, the Earth, the Solar system, galaxies, and the Universe.
Scientific disciplines are here for a good reason. We are unable to go from the first principles and derive behavior of galaxies from them! We take as the baseline whole stars, gravity, and electromagnetism. We cannot go from quantum field theory to prove behavior of the galaxies!
Stars themselves are emergent structures originating in the lower level physics: electromagnetism, atomic interactions, fusion, etc. This physical ladder goes even lower.
Many scientists working in their field of research do not realize that they are working with emergents that exist only due to vast number of interactions of parts operating at the lover level of the physics ladder. Those who understand this can easily cross the borders of disciplines as they are putting ends correctly together.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
4 answers
After reading Mertens' Introduction to Educational Research, I have a preliminary understanding of the four main research paradigms of research, which are post-positivism paradigm, constructivism paradigm, transformational paradigm and pragmatic paradigm. In the future, I plan to focus on the education direction of adult lifelong growth and learning. In this direction, I think the pragmatic paradigm will be more helpful to the education and research work I want to do. There are three reasons as follows:
#1 I focus on the growth and learning of adults, whose needs for growth and learning also change with the development of the times. The axiology of the pragmatic paradigm is that knowledge is acquired in the process of pursuing expected goals, and it is necessary to contact with multiple groups to obtain different understandings (Morgan 2007). This is suitable for the study of adult education in different Settings.
#2 The ontology of the pragmatic paradigm emphasizes the creation of knowledge through lines of action, pointing out that different people or groups can work together to complete "joint actions" or "projects". The emphasis is on the actual actions (" courses of action "), the beliefs behind those actions (" guaranteed claims "), and the possible consequences of different actions (" maneuverability ") (Morgan 2007). In my opinion, the personal growth and learning of growing people is the change of their beliefs or beliefs to action, and the positive feedback brought by the action promotes the occurrence of continuous learning. So at this point I also think that the pragmatic paradigm is more suitable for the direction of adult growth and learning.
#3 The epistemology of the pragmatic paradigm proposes that researchers need to interact with different members of society to understand problems in order to determine wise courses of action and determine the appropriateness of these actions, once implemented, to solve problems. The researchers did not position themselves as distant observers. Educational research on adult growth and learning requires interaction with group members, and researchers themselves are also part of the group, so they cannot be merely observers.
reference
Mertens, D. M. (2020). Research and evaluation in education and psychology : Integrating Diversity with Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methods (5th edition). ISBN:9781544333762
阅读完Mertens的《教育研究导言》,初步了解了教育研究的四个主要的研究范式分别是后实证主义范式、建构主义范式、转化型范式和实用主义范式。我打算未来专注在成人的终身成长学习的教育方向上,在这个方向上我认为实用主义范式对我想做的教育及研究工作会比较有帮助。理由有三,如下:
#1 我关注的是成年人的自身成长学习,成年人本身成长学习的需要也是在时代的发展中也是变化的,实用主义范式的价值论是在追求预期目标的过程中获得知识,需要与多个群体接触,从而获得不同解度的理解(Morgan 2007)。这对于在不同环境下的成人成长教育的研究会很适合。
#2 实用主义范式的存在论强调通过行动路线创造知识,指出了不同的人或群体可以共同完成“联合行动”或“项目”。重点在于实际行为(“行动路线”)、这些行为背后的信念(“有保证的主张”)以及不同行为可能带来的后果(“可操作性”)(Morgan 2007)。在我看来,成长人的自身成长学习正是基本其信念或信念的改变,到有所行动,以及行动后带来的正向反馈促进持续学习的发生。所以在这一点上我也认为实用主义范式更适合用于成人自身成长学习的方向。
#3 实用主义范式的知识论提出研究者需要与社会的不同成员互动,理解问题,以确定明智的行动方针,并确定这些行动一旦实施后的适当性,解决问题。研究者没有将自己定位为有距离的观察者。对于成人的成长学习的教育研究,是需要与群体成员互动,而且研究者本身也是群体之一,无法成为仅是观察者的角色。
参考文献
Mertens, D. M. (2020). Research and evaluation in education and psychology : Integrating diversity with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods(第 5 版)赛奇出版社。ISBN:9781544333762
Relevant answer
Answer
This article may also be helpful:
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
2 answers
This is up to each party, and what it carries on its agenda is based on the ideas that this or that side carries.
📷
Relevant answer
My respects Dear Dr. Anwar Ismail...
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
3 answers
In the 1980s Bealer wrote Quality and Concept which presented a type-free first-order approach
to intensional logic to compete with other higher-order, type-theoretic and modal approaches.
The presentation (both in the book and in a published article) is very sketchy (some non-trivial lemmas are merely stated) and the presentation is not easy to follow.
I was so impressed and intrigued by Bealer's philosophical arguments based on his system that I took it upon myself to clarify the presentation of his intensional logic and to furnish detailed proofs of the soundness and completeness results, which I hope might interest a larger audience. I wrote a paper containing this material which gives a general philosophical motivation and points out some open problems. I was interested in being sure of the correctness of these results before advancing to purely philosophical discussions on the advantage of this approach.
What would be a good journal to submit this paper to ?
Relevant answer
Answer
Look at the journals listed in the bibliography of the entry for "Intensional Logic" in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:
Some more recent work by Bealer is also referenced.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
3 answers
In terms of conducting educational research or an evaluation, what are some examples of situations where there is a need for only a qualitative or only a quantitative approach to a topic instead of using both?
I am learning about the four research paradigms including constructivist, transformative, post positivist, and pragmatic. The pragmatic paradigm follows a hybrid model using quantitative and qualitative methods and doesn't have to prove a general truth. This seems to be the most flexible and generally applicable approach to me as someone who does not have any formal experience in educational research or evaluation.
Relevant answer
Answer
I am currently supervising my PHD student's study in Education. We are examing Universal Design Instruction (UDI) for students with visual disabilities in the classroom with intention to build a custom UDI model. Hence we are using both methods of quantitative and qualitative data for added value and strength.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
3 answers
I am an MA student working on pragmatics, specifically DCTs (discourse completion tasks). do you happen to know any books or articles on how to write and analyze DCTs? or is there any source for DCTs on different topics?
Relevant answer
Answer
Rafal Rzepka Florence Daniel thank you very much.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
5 answers
I'm beginning to think that this distinction is not as clear-cut as it has traditionally been taken for granted. Consider the following example: "She may like this one" (uttered by a friend who is helping you find a dress for your girlfriend). Many would say that this is a case of epistemic modality (no speaker's commitment to the truth of the modalized proposition). However, in this context, the utterance of "She may like this one" counts as a suggestion, this notion falling, in my view, within the domain of deontic modality.
Relevant answer
Answer
Semantics is long-term and theoretical; pragmatics is here-and-now, practical, applied. There are many different types of context, linguistic, musical, geographical, historical, cultural, etc., and Pragmatics deals with these contexts in terms of HERE AND NOW. Semantics is able to transcend from the here-and-now to deal with these issues in a broader sense. Here is a PowerPoint on "Semantics," and one on "Pragmatics." These PowerPoints illustrate this distinction.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
11 answers
I am looking at second language development for children  through play activities. I can see a a lot of second language use through the child's monologue with herself while playing but need to find research on the subject.
Relevant answer
Answer
Play is an extremely important aspect of children's development, and adult development as well. Associated with play is laughter (mainly a public phenomienon), and smililng (mainly an individual phenomenon). Here is a PowerPoint about "Play," one about "Laughter and Smiling," and one about "Humor and Education." Enjoy:
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
6 answers
When I was doing research on measuring integrated curriculum and extracurricular activity participation of Chinese students, mixed methods really inspired me and gave me great help.Now as a postgraduate freshman, I have to think deeply about pragmatic paradigm and other research paradigms.Welcome to discuss more recent studies together.Thank you.
Relevant answer
Answer
Interesting. Pragmatism is Dewey's concept in education.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
5 answers
The real world is constantly changing. Human beings' understanding of their own brains is still so superficial that they can hardly talk about the whole real world. I was struck by a passage: "These philosophers reject the scientific idea that social inquiry can reach truths about the real world by means of a single scientific method. "In the pragmatic paradigm, the outcome is all that matters, and the value of the outcome is judged by its validity, not by its consistency with some 'reality' in the real world. Pragmatism's emphasis on "believing one thing is different from another" is more convincing than other paradigms that emphasize the nature of reality and objective truth.
Relevant answer
Answer
The problem nowadays is that social inquiry has extended its reach in the natural sciences, going beyond such issues as knowledge production, and making claims about social construction of content. That may be acceptable for social sciences and some areas of biology, but results in some very weird claims for mathematics, physics, and engineering. What Isam Alkhalifawi says is entirely correct, except that pragmatists did also have a mitigating notion of convergence toward something beyond mere workability as an ideal at "the end of inquiry". Unfortunately nowadays the lines between pragmatists and constructivists have become blurred, and many who profess to be following the pragmatic paradigm have strayed from its basic principles.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
3 answers
In my research, I have examined the impact of computer-mediated self-paced lessons on Turkish EFL learners' request modification. However, I am not sure what test I should run to see whether there is a statistically significant difference between the frequency counts of modifiers in pre-test and post-test. Moreover, I am not certain about how I can code the data. Do you think I should assign codes to each sub-category (e.g. playdown, politeness marker) or is it ok to type the frequency counts of internal and external modifiers in pre-test and post-test onto SPSS?
Relevant answer
Answer
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
15 answers
Asking for a friend:
Greetings
I am a last-year Ph.D. student who is waiting for a doctoral defense session. I am going to continue my Postdoc in the area of pragmatics and language education. Do you have any idea about the existed opportunities? Thanks so much in advance
Relevant answer
Answer
Look out for vacancies on The Linguist List https://linguistlist.org/career/search/. If you know which researchers have projects on these topics that you are interested in, write to them to introduce yourself. It's also worth asking your PhD supervisor about this.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
25 answers
Several studies in general population have found a prevalence of 3 to 8% of advanced liver fibrosis in the context of NAFLD by means of noninvasive procedures. Diabetes prevalence has been increasing worldwide. It is one of the main risk factors for chronic liver disease and cirrhosis. Liver fibrosis is a strong predictor of mortality. In pragmatic terms do you think that all diabetic patients seen in consultation should be screened for liver fibrosis? If you agree which would be your strategy of study?
Relevant answer
Answer
I think to evaluate the liver fibrosis is easy and practical
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
4 answers
It is a pragmatic study of tweets for some political leaders and I need to count the words are phrases used by each of them. Thanks.
Relevant answer
Answer
For quick simple checks old good AntConc should be enough:
You can also have a look for other corpus linguistics tools if you need more sophisticated stuff.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
4 answers
We are developing a test for ad-hoc (ad-hoc) and scalar implicatures (SI) and are showing 3 images (of similar nature) to the participants: image, image with 1 item, image with 2 items.
Eg. Plate with pasta, a plate with pasta and sauce, a plate with pasta, sauce and meatballs.
A question for an ad-hoc is: My pasta has meatballs, which is my pasta?
Q. for an SI is: My pasta has sauce or meatballs, which is my pasta? (pasta with sauce is the target item since we are testing pragmatic implicatures, where 'or' means 'not both'.
The item that causes many difficulties in making up questions is the image without any items, ie. plate with pasta. How do we phrase the question so that it elicits this image as a target response, without using too complex syntax?
Negation; "My plate has no sauce or meatballs", "My plate has only pasta, no sauce and no meatballs", seems like a complex structure to introduce as a counterbalance to the other type of items.
Has anyone tested something similar, without negation? We would be grateful for any kind of tips and hints.
Relevant answer
Answer
Could you just say: my plate has plain plasta?
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
28 answers
One of the goals of the scientific platforms, including Research Gate, is to help researchers to update their knowledge regarding the recent developments in research in their area of study. We can help new researchers by suggesting titles or topics for research and in this way we can promote spreading knowledge and it would be another way for connecting researchers all over the world. Moreover, some researchers may co-author some topics as well as brainstorm ideas in their areas. I'll start with some topics that might be interesting for some researchers in the field of "translation" and I expect others to contribute. Thanks a lot in advance for your contribution. And I think you will get lots of thanks from such researchers.
1.Metonymy as a pragmatic style for politeness in religious texts with reference to translation.
2. Naturalness in translation: advantages and disadvantages.
Relevant answer
Answer
Definitely we should help each other
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
5 answers
I want to focus on the field of pragmatics in my monograph, however, I want to study it from an angle that helps me in the future concerning my teaching career OR AT LEAST BE RELEVANT. What are your suggestions?
Relevant answer
Answer
An interesting idea could be to look into how Moroccan EFL learners produce L2 speech acts.
Good luck!
Cheers,
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
3 answers
Pragmatically, AL/ML is not more than some well defined algorithms!
Relevant answer
Answer
Hello Seyyed, very good question. We just finished one study on AI in CPS (check it out, its open access: ), and the CPS elements as we know them from 2015, have already evolved in a different format. So.. basically old tech is obsolete and cost more to maintain and secure, than upgrade to new systems. I guess by 2025, everything that we install today, will be obsolete, with the new DL algorithm replacing old ML algorithms.. technology waits for no man :)
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
27 answers
What did you mean by X?
How can we know what the speaker means without asking him/her? What are the criteria that help us know the intended meaning?
Relevant answer
The maqam and its clues, as well as the state of the speaker at the time of the speech, with reference knowledge of the person of the speaker are all important matters in determining the speaker's intentions
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
7 answers
Hi guys!
I have a question on a framing effect-like issue. Well, everyone of us has the immediate feeling that there's a huge difference between saying - for instance - "you should respect the environment" and "we should respect the environment", or also "the environment should be respected".
The difference might lie in how such sentences are interpreted by our minds and of course it affects the compliance to the described behavior (i.e., "respect the environment").
I'm convinced that I'm no genius and there must be a huge literature behind such an effect; but I'm not skilled in these themes, so I'm calling for help. Any clues?
P.S.: I know that nudge units and behavioral interventions teams in general promote the "make it personal" magic recipe to increase compliance, but I wonder where such strategies come from. I'm particularly interested in understanding the differences between "you should /we should", that is how grammatical phrasing (i.e., switching the person in the phrase) affects the interpretation and the relative compliance.
thanks in advance for any help
all the best,
Alessandro
Relevant answer
Answer
(1) You should do X / (2) we should do X / (3) X should be done — note that this is about deontic utterances, which are performative. They have no truth value but have variable speech act force. That FORCE stems from the authority that backs up the speaker in context. In (1), the back up is, basically: "...because I say so!" = personal authority. In (2), there is a collective morality behind the speaker. And in (3), there is an appeal to rationality, so the speaker speaks in the name of what he thinks is best according to impersonal logics and knowledge.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
12 answers
I define the research philosophy for my research phenomenon that is the impact of the disruptive innovation in the hotel industry as epistemology. But, I'm not sure how to justify the rationale behind the approach to philosophy.
The research paradigm is pragmatic as I am studying travellers' behaviour and the market experts' conviction on the existing phenomenon using a mixed-methods approach.
so will it be called subjective? That's what I have understood so far.
Any advice or suggestions are welcome.
Thanks!
Relevant answer
How would you explain objectivism and subjectivism in a business research?
There is a clear criterion: research relies on subjectivity if the researcher believes that facts are constructed in his mind, while objectivity means that facts stem from the subject. if you do not distinguish or do not care about this issue this means that you adopt pragmatism.
Regards
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
3 answers
Consider the pragmatic research principle in gesturing the research process and its methods
Relevant answer
Answer
They want everything to be defined, and many - to be measured.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
3 answers
Based on pragmatic philosophy , I want to analyse internal conversations as a driver to engagement. I am using narrative inquiry as QUali method. And planning to use secondary data as Quanti due to time constraint which will be utilised in narrative analysis.
Can I independently interpret Quali and QUantitative and not go for comparison ?
Relevant answer
Answer
Yes, you will move from inductive to deductive. However, in order to generate hypotheses you would need to do a full scale qualitative study. That would convert your design from qual --> QUAN to QUAL --> QUAN. But note that this second design is difficult to do because it requires that the qualitative segment be both capable of standing on its own and be directed by the goals of the quantitative study.
In the more basic version of qual --> QUAN you would already have the goals (hypotheses etc.) in place for the QUAN study, but you would need the qual study to help you determine how to measure the relevant variables. In particular, it is rare to plan for a QUAN study without having set of research hypotheses in mind.
If you don't have any idea what variables you will need to measure or how they will be related to each other in the QUAN study, then you might consider a design like: qual --> qual --> QUAN. In that case, the first qual study would be for hypothesis generating and second one for developing measures. In this case, the reason for not doing just one qual study is that it is hard to determine how to measure something when you don't even know what you want to measure.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
1 answer
Hello everyone,
I am dusting off my knowledge on adaptive control for my research. I came across with a concept that I did not quite get back then and is still elusive to me: persistence of excitation. After looking in many places, I always found the expression for the condition with the integral of the regressor matrix upper and lower bounded. However, I do not get the intuition of the meaning and why the persistence of excitation condition is formulated like that. Any comments on this will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
7 answers
What are the differences between achievement test and proficiency test?
Relevant answer
Answer
Both measure cognitive ability of learners. However, performance test is teacher-made test or researcher-made test while achievement test is a standardized test mostly prepared by examination bodies.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
6 answers
My thesis is about Miscommunication, confusion and impoliteness in second/foreign language classroom. For this research, I need to gather data from classroom interaction. Here are three questionnaires about interaction in the classroom of English/Spanish and Italian as FL/SL. Please could you share them with language students? Your cooperation is highly appreciated. For any question, please do not hesitate to contact me: cristina.gadaleta@hud.ac.uk English: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIQyN4ikkpIQ7eNM7il6vTxNP78SltxQlo4Z7SloQacGJNvw/viewform?usp=sf_link Spanish: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf9Ib2iPNXhgzDNgKriwbiODAXweLNAkyVv48Al_0sAIo0KoA/viewform?usp=sf_link Italian: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScRediqYPWzdV2Yj4WqUpGFUxDlZ1Yo6c_3Sq7kCVapXjsHZw/viewform?usp=sf_link
Acknowledge: Mugford, G. (2019). Addressing difficult situations in foreign-language learning : confusion, impoliteness, and hostility. New York, NY: Routledge.
Relevant answer
Answer
Really,highly,valuably needed.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
9 answers
My thesis is about Miscommunication in second/foreign language classroom.
For this research, I need to gather data from classroom interaction.
Here are three questionnaires about interaction in the classroom of English/Spanish and Italian as FL/SL. Please could you share them with language students? Your cooperation is highly appreciated. For any question, please do not hesitate to contact me: cristina.gadaleta@hud.ac.uk.
Italian: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScRediqYPWzdV2Yj4WqUpGFUxDlZ1Yo6c_3Sq7kCVapXjsHZw/viewform?usp=sf_link Acknowledge: Mugford, G. (2019). Addressing difficult situations in foreign-language learning : confusion, impoliteness, and hostility. New York, NY: Routledge.
Relevant answer
Answer
I think miscommunication originally based on the indivual differences among those learners.Some are at a high level of language development mastering all the fundamental skills fully while on the other hand some are so poor and inexperienced concerning the basics of lang.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
17 answers
The whole PhD project will be conducted (in a palliative care context) in phases using a combination of questionnaires, interviews, focus groups and possibly reference groups along with analysis of conversations between clinicians and patients and an audit of patient records. I intend to use a pragmatic approach using both inductive and deductive analyses. The parts of the study may potentially stand alone, but better triangulated with a synthesis at the end. I keep going back and forth between calling this mixed methods and multi methods. I thought I nailed it when I called it multi-stage mixed methods!
Then I came across this little gem regarding case study research that was written in the same context as my study (palliative care):
"To understand the nature of case study research, it is useful to conceptualize it as an approach to research rather than a methodology in its own right. In other words, when considering the phenomenon of interest and the research questions it raises, the case study researcher selects the methodological position most suited to answer the particular research questions. The methods used in case study research are pragmatically – rather than paradigmatically – driven". Rosenberg, J. & Yates, P. (2007).
Using this logic, can I identify my study as using a pragmatic case study design, and not even touch upon qual/quant/multi/mixed method at all?
If so, are there any other references to substantiate this position?
Relevant answer
Answer
With regard to "using a concurrent mixed methods design that demands to collect the two strands of data concurrently, analyze separately and converge afterward," I would not say that pragmatism does not cover this design. Instead, I would say that this is weak design, so it would be wise to consider alternative designs if they are available.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
6 answers
When I try to review theories about word meaning within a broad-sense concept-related manner, I find that there are only few scholars who regard word meaning as concept, including Fodor, Bloom, Borg. In contrast, there are many who conceive word meaning not as concept but as conceptual schema or template, including most of Cognitive Linguists and Relevance Theorists.
Thus, I am wondering whether there are more scholars in "word meaning is concept" camp? Can Plato's Idealism be included, a seeming "label" view?
Great thanks.
Relevant answer
Answer
Hi Qiao
There are various possibilities for what these underspecified entities might be: a special kind of ‘lexical’ concept, a pro-concept, a schema or procedure or set of constraints on the kind of contentful concept they can be used to express/communicate.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
13 answers
Actually, for every text to be translated there is a kind of translation that's very suitable for that text. For example, scientific texts should be semantically translated because the accuracy of meaning in such a case is of top priority.Literary Texts, on the other hand, can be communicatively managed. In other words, the meaning in this case is not of top priority but it goes hand in hand with the form which is very important too.
It could be added that political discourse is characterized by a lot of playing on words' meanings. In other words, politicians, in most situations, try to use certain words and expressions with opposite meanings. Such being the case, the pragmatic approach should be depended on when it comes to rendering political discourse.
Relevant answer
Answer
Translated into what?
And how?
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
4 answers
I am currently designing an intervention (injury surveillance system) to be implemented within an organization. This research (following a pragmatic paradigm) will follow a multiphase mixed methods research consisting of QUAL -> QUANT -> QUAL.
The initial qualitative part will be conducted through interviews with the stakeholders of the organization in order to understand their perspectives with regards to the intervention; to identify barriers and facilitators to implementing the intervention and to design the intervention that best fits with the organizational needs.
My question is this: I am not sure which qualitative approach do I have to consider in this first part of the study. I am approaching this study from a pragmatic world view and hence I do not know whether this part requires a specific qualitative approach.
Relevant answer
Answer
I agree with David L Morgan and Dean Whitehead that the most important thing to define is why you choose Pragmatism as the paradigm for your research. For example, I also conducted a multiphase mixed methods design for my doctoral research, which included an intervention. But while Pragmatism was the umbrella paradigm for the overall design of my research (w/ 4 research phases in total), the different phases of my project adopted different paradigms. For instance, whereas the phases with a QUAL priority adopted a constructivist stance, the ones with a QUAN had pragmatic stance.
The reason why I adopted pragmatism as the Overarching umbrella was precisely because one of its fundamental principles was paradigm integration, i.e. the synthesis of quantitative and qualitative standpoints. In short, the eclectic of pragmatism partners well with the multidimensionality of mixed methods multiphase designs, by allowing us the allocation of different paradigms along the different research phases of multiphase designs.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
14 answers
English Literature is a common discipline in the universities in South Asian countries. Quite often, the practitioners in the field and the learners as well are faced with an irritating question of 'relevance' of literature in general and English literature in particular in the shaping of national identity. Our query is does literature have a pragmatic impact on the national and societal lives of the people? Do the literature Depts contribute to the development of the nation and if yes, how?.
Relevant answer
Answer
I think that's a very good question. Obviously, being an Australian of Irish descent, I can only draw direct experience from looking at how it has informed the various traditions of countries that are closely related to my own culturally.
However, in saying that, with reference to your question I feel like it would be helpful to draw on some of our neighbours in the Oceanic region. In the general region of Melanesia, the emergence of written literature in countries like Vanuatu, Fiji and Papua New Guinea (though not, perhaps, necessary in shaping the culture up until its fairly recent emergence, largely due to the prevalence of oral literature) I believe may have an important role in shaping the future of the cultures there.
Now, while all of these countries don't perhaps have a prevalence of exclusively English literature (with many being in native languages, pidgins, creoles, Hindi and French as well) English is the most commonly spoken language in all three, and therefore, also the most commonly read (although popular literature and print media is usually quite balanced in its split between native languages and English).
As in a lot of the literature of colonised regions, a lot of the new literature coming out of the Melanesian region is postcolonial and is in many ways grappling with the shock and trauma of colonialism. For this precise region, I believe it will be integral in shaping the culture moving forward. While the university systems there, which have been integral in fostering these literatures are fairly young, as are the literatures themselves, the writing is beginning to diversify in terms of publications as well as emancipate itself somewhat from academia, leading to more widespread adoption of writing.
While Melanesia has a rich cultural history that does not in any way "need" developing, and likewise there is no "need" for the English language or literature unto itself, in terms of making use of what is already there, I believe that given its widespread adoption (which thankfully has not led to extinction of the native languages) and likewise the adoption of the written form CAN have a pragmatic effect on their cultural development as it is, to some extent, a lingua franca and can assist in the ease of sharing stories.
As for how literature departments at universities have, given that they were integral in developing a written tradition, I would say that at least in the case of Melanesia, the relevance of the literature department cannot be dismissed.
Now certainly this cannot be applied in all cases, and to all non-native-English-speaking nations, developed or otherwise, I believe that the South Pacific region does show a way in which the relevance and pragmatic capacity of literature can be argued for.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
5 answers
Today I learned about Alex Eskin, at U of Chicago, and his Magic Wand Theorem which was recently awarded $3 million in 2019 Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics. The results of this theorem are based on the work by Alex Eskin and the late Maryam Mirzakhani, submitted in 2013
The rewarded breakthrough theory claims that its results are of enormous importance for studying dynamical processes in the Universe, however, the theory is "not easy to explain". This is further discussed in , where the author Anton Zorich states " One can observe certain common phenomena in large classes of dynamical systems; in particular, ideal billiards might be interpreted as toy models of a gas in a chamber. Such toy models allow to elaborate tools to study original dynamical systems of physical nature."
My question is, why have a geometric toy model to study dynamical processes, when you can have a real and simple dynamical model, known as the globotoroid, to address these processes?
It seems, Magic Wand Theorem is another example of hard to explain mathematical theory, which provides a "useful tool for physics". Can we be more real and pragmatic, or this is perhaps not academic enough? For instance, my recent addresses more realistically the topics Magic Wand Theorem attempts to do.
Incidentally, I also used the term "Magical Wand" im my 2015 YouTube video, https://youtu.be/gbPaG9AHZfg, where I show how to wrap growth data, in this case the market data, onto a spheroid. Interesting coincidence in the use of term.
Relevant answer
Answer
Dear Igor Bayak,
Thank you for your comments, and recommendations.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
3 answers
What kind of model for a rural health care services can work in a low-middle income country? What are the common barriers and challenges to do so?
Relevant answer
Answer
To pervade the shared knowledge of these rural residents about information what is the right way to improve their living. By this, you will increase their social cognition and make them help themselves to cope with such problems. This is as far as the pragmatic challenges are concerned.
  • asked a question related to Pragmatics
Question
31 answers
For instance, how should a language teacher teach different speech acts, implicit meaning, etc.
Relevant answer
Answer
Notably, the pragmatic aspects of language use can be actualized by the anguage contexts. To this end, problem solving tasks fostering critical thinking and collaborative work such as discourse completion , role play, and consciousness raising activities engaging the learners in group work can make a difference.