National College of Business Administration &

Economics

Submitted To:
Ma’am Summiyah

Subject:
Discourse studies

Pragmatics and discourse context

 Discourse analyst

Linguistic elements language in context by

Speaker/writer

1) Reference:
 The term reference is used to define the relationship between a word
and what it points to.
 Or the relation between two linguistic expression.
 Words refer to things.
Examples:
 He went to a shop, it was closed.
 If you want them, there are cookies in the kitchen.

2) Presupposition:
 In the branch of linguistics known as pragmatics, a presupposition (or
PSP) is an implicit assumption about the world or background belief
relating to an utterance whose truth is taken for granted in discourse.
 Presuppositions are associated with the use of a large number of
words, phrases and structures.
 These linguistic forms are considered as indicators of potential
presupposition, which can only become actual presupposition in
contexts with speakers.
Examples:
 Jane no longer writes fiction.
Presupposition: Jane once wrote fiction.

3) Implicatures:
 The word implicature (implicature) is taken from the verb “to imply”
which comes from the Latin “plicare”. Etymologically, “to imply” means
to fold something into something else.
 Implicature cannot be separated from the principle of cooperation
between the two speakers in a conversation interaction.
  It is stated that there are two types of implicature, namely conventional
implicature which result from logical reasoning and conversational
implicature that are produced due to certain contexts.
Example:
 He is poor but happy.
The word “but” implicates a sense of contrast between being
poor and being happy.

4) Inference:
 An inference is the process of drawing a conclusion from supporting
evidence.
 It’s when you go beyond the evidence and reach some further
conclusion.
Example:
 I do not see Anne. She said she was tired, so she must have gone
home to take rest.
 A character has a diaper in her hand and a bottle warming on the
counter. You can infer that this character is a mother.