ABSTRACT
We ended the previous chapter by suggesting that the concept of meaning was reliant on generalized knowledge and communicative use. People speak to individuals or groups for different reasons, and the language fulfills different functions. A speaker may say, “Hey, what's happenin’ ” to a friend just to make contact or pronounce you “man and wife” in a formal and legal ceremony. All of these uses of language are instrumental for human communication and part of the general theory of pragmatics.
