Social Language Use (Pragmatics)

You have invited your friend over for dinner. Your child sees your friend reach for some cookies
and says, "Better not take those, or you'll get even bigger." You're embarrassed that your child
could speak so rudely. However, you should consider that your child may not know how to use
language appropriately in social situations and did not mean harm by the comment.

An individual may say words clearly and use long, complex sentences with correct grammar, but
still have a communication problem - if he or she has not mastered the rules for social language
known as pragmatics. Adults may also have difficulty with pragmatics, for example, as a result
of a brain injury or stroke.

Pragmatics involve three major communication skills:

Using language for different purposes, such as

o greeting (e.g., hello, goodbye)

o informing (e.g., I'm going to get a cookie)

o demanding (e.g., Give me a cookie)

o promising (e.g., I'm going to get you a cookie)

o requesting (e.g., I would like a cookie, please)

Changing language according to the needs of a listener or situation, such as

o talking differently to a baby than to an adult

o giving background information to an unfamiliar listener

o speaking differently in a classroom than on a playground

Following rules for conversations and storytelling, such as

o taking turns in conversation

o introducing topics of conversation

o staying on topic
 o rephrasing when misunderstood

o how to use verbal and nonverbal signals

o how close to stand to someone when speaking

o how to use facial expressions and eye contact

These rules may vary across cultures and within cultures. It is important to understand the rules
of your communication partner.

An individual with pragmatic problems may:

say inappropriate or unrelated things during conversations

tell stories in a disorganized way

have little variety in language use

It is not unusual for children to have pragmatic problems in only a few situations. However, if
problems in social language use occur often and seem inappropriate considering the child's age, a
pragmatic disorder may exist. Pragmatic disorders often coexist with other language problems
such as vocabulary development or grammar. Pragmatic problems can lower social acceptance.
Peers may avoid having conversations with an individual with a pragmatic disorder.

Pragmatics

Pragmatics is the area of language function that embraces the use of language in social contexts
(knowing what to say, how to say it, and when to say it - and how to "be" with other people).

Children with pragmatic difficulties have great trouble using language socially in ways that are
appropriate or typical of children of their age. They often do not understand that we take turns to
talk, and they will "talk over the top of you" at times, or, at other times respond to what you say
with inappropriate silences, or in a voice that is too quiet. They may interrupt excessively and
talk irrelevantly or about things the listener shows no interest in. Their communicative behaviour
often appears rude and inconsiderate.

They often do not assume prior knowledge. So for example, one boy explained to me in minute
detail how to wash a car, wrongly assuming that I needed (and wanted) the information and that I
had never washed a car.
On the other hand, they may assume prior knowledge that the listener could not possibly have,
and launch into a long disquisition without describing in sufficient detail the participants,
location and general background of their story.

They can go on far too long telling stories, and include so much detail that the listener becomes
disinterested.

Pragmatic skills include:

knowing that you have to answer when a question has been asked;

being able to participate in a conversation by taking it in turns with the other speaker;

the ability to notice and respond to the non-verbal aspects of language (reacting
appropriately to the other person's body language and 'mood', as well as their words);

awareness that you have to introduce a topic of conversation in order for the listener to
fully understand;

knowing which words or what sort of sentence-type to use when initiating a conversation
or responding to something someone has said;

the ability to maintain a topic (or change topic appropriately, or 'interrupt' politely);

the ability to maintain appropriate eye-contact (not too much staring, and not too much
looking away) during a conversation; and

the ability to distinguish how to talk and behave towards different communicative
partners (formal with some, informal with others).