Role and Importance of Semantics and Pragmatics in Linguistics

Abstract

Semantics and pragmatics are both concerned with meaning in language, but they approach it from different angles. Semantics focuses on the literal, dictionary-based meaning of words and sentences, while pragmatics examines how context, speaker intent, and other non-linguistic factors influence meaning. In essence, semantics deals with what words mean, and pragmatics deals with what speakers mean by those words in a specific situation. While distinct, semantics and pragmatics are interconnected. Pragmatics often builds upon the foundation of semantic meaning. Understanding the semantic meaning of a sentence is often the first step in figuring out its pragmatic meaning. Semantics, the study of meaning in language, is a crucial sub-discipline within linguistics. It explores how words, phrases, sentences, and larger units of discourse convey meaning and how this meaning is interpreted by speakers and listeners.