Pragmatics deals with the functional use of language and the interpretation of meaning in context. This domain encompasses skills such as knowing what to say, how to say it, when to say it, and to whom – all of which are critical for effective communication. Examples of pragmatic skills include using different language registers (speaking to a friend vs. a professor), understanding indirect language or figurative expressions, and following the unspoken rules of conversation and storytelling. In clinical practice, a child with pragmatic language impairment might have a good grasp of vocabulary and syntax but struggle with using language socially (for instance, not grasping turn-taking or staying on topic), so intervention would focus on teaching appropriate communicative behaviors and awareness of listener perspectives.
Martyn D. Barrett. Pragmatics and Language Learning. In The Handbook of Child Language, edited by Paul Fletcher and Brian MacWhinney, 411–436. Blackwell, (1995).
Catherine Adams. “Assessment and Treatment of Pragmatic Language Impairments.” Seminars in Speech and Language 26, no. 3 (2005).
