Pragmatics and Discourse

Learners of a language usually understand that it takes more than learning literal meaning of language. Language is culturally and socially situated and often requires an understanding of this socio/cultural context to make meaning. A classic, tongue-in-cheek example from Scotland is the view from Glasgow that the key difference between Glasgow and Edinburgh is that Glaswegians will ask an unexpected evening guest 'Have you had your tea (dinner)?' meaning Would you like to eat? whereas in Edinburgh they would say 'You'll have had your tea' meaning You won't get any food; of course the broader meaning is that Glaswegians think Edinburgians are mean/tight/unfriendly.

The ability to communicate on this level is referred to as pragmatic competence. On a more specific asepct of pragmatics, the ability to communicate with reference to appropriate logical linking is known as discourse competence (which overlaps with coherence and cohesion - see grammar). With no pragmatic competence we would answer the question 'Do you have a watch?' with 'Yes' rather than telling the person the time, which is what they are asking. Lack of discourse competence makes is incoherent.