science

Historical pragmatics

Historical pragmatics is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Historical pragmatics rather than just read about it. In short: Historical pragmatics is the study of linguistic pragmatics over time. Research in historical pragmatics is mainly carried out on written corpora as recordings of spoken language are a relatively recent phenomenon.

Key takeaways

Historical pragmatics belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Historical pragmatics to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Historical pragmatics from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Historical pragmatics is the study of linguistic pragmatics over time. Research in historical pragmatics is mainly carried out on written corpora as recordings of spoken language are a relatively recent phenomenon.

State of the art Since the late 1970s, historical linguists have shown growing interest in pragmatic questions—first in German, then in Romance linguistics. The field has also been attracting more and more colleagues from English linguistics since the mid-1990s, with Andreas Jucker being one of the first and most influential proponents. In Romance linguistics, work by Ulrich Detges, Richard Waltereit, Maj-Britt Mosegaard Hansen and Jacqueline Visconti has led to a resurgence of historical pragmatic work focusing on the role of the listener in language change. The Journal of Historical Pragmatics is edited by Dawn Archer.

Methodology Historical pragmatics has to rely exclusively on written corpora. This leads to the question "How can we find out about the ways people talked to each other in medieval and early modern times?" The difficulty of unmasking spoken language in earlier periods has been discussed several times; for medieval times there are practically no reflexes of or on spoken language, and a majority of studies on historical pragmatics do not delve into texts prior to the 17th century.

See also Historical linguistics Pragmatics Speech act Text linguistics Henry Cecil Wyld

Notes

References Jucker, Andreas H. (1995), Historical Pragmatics: Pragmatic Developments in the History of English, Amsterdam/Philadelphia: Benjamins. Jucker, Andreas H./Fritz, Gerd/Lebsanft, Franz (eds.) (1999a), Historical Dialogue Analysis, Amsterdam: Benjamins. Jucker, Andreas H./Fritz, Gerd/Lebsanft, Franz (1999b), "Historical Dialogue Analysis: Roots and Traditions in the Study of the Romance Languages, German and English", in: Jucker/Fritz/Lebsanft 1999a (eds.), 1-33. Jucker, Andreas H. (2000), "English Historical Pragmatics: Problems of Data and Methodology", in: di Martino, Gabriella / Lima, Maria (eds.), English Diachronic Pragmatics, 17-55. Napoli: CUEN.

External links Bibliography on historical pragmatics, compiled by Andreas Jucker, with over 450 entries Journal of Historical Pragmatics Onomasiology Online, internet journal, edited by Joachim Grzega, Alfred Bammesberger and Marion Schöner, that also includes works on historical pragmatics

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Historical pragmatics

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Historical pragmatics claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Historical pragmatics before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Historical pragmatics ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Historical pragmatics

In research: Historical pragmatics appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Historical pragmatics in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Historical pragmatics is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Historical linguistics, Historical linguistics stubs, Linguistics stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Historical pragmatics outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Historical pragmatics in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Historical pragmatics means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Historical pragmatics out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Historical pragmatics in simple terms?

Why does Historical pragmatics matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Historical pragmatics?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Historical pragmatics.