This core textbook provides an engaging and accessible introduction to the field of pragmatics: the study of the relationship between linguistic meaning and context. Assuming no prior knowledge, Siobhan Chapman surveys the development of pragmatics from the very beginning to the present day and engages with recent debates on topics such as experimental pragmatics and (im)politeness theory. Readers will develop their knowledge of how pragmatics interacts with other areas of language, such as semantics, and of how it has been applied to the study of various aspects of language in use, including literature, language acquisition and clinical linguistics.

Comprehensive and highly readable, this is an essential text for undergraduates or postgraduates enrolled on specialist modules in pragmatics or on more general linguistics courses. It is also an ideal resource for researchers in linguistics or related disciplines who are interested in how the field is developing.