ABSTRACT
This chapter situates pragmatics within general linguistics and describes foundational theories and concepts pertaining to L2 pragmatics production by examining several studies and how they utilize these concepts in pragmatics. The chapter defines key concepts (e.g., sociopragmatics, pragmalinguistics, politeness, directness) in L2 pragmatics and illustrates their relevance through contextualized examples. Seminal works such as Brown and Levinson’s (1987) politeness theory and Austin’s (1962) and Searle’s (1969) speech act theory are also introduced to explain how speakers convey messages to hearers in communication.
