Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 The origin and development of pragmatics 1.1.1 The philosophical origin 1.1.2 The growth ofpragmatics in modem linguistics 1.1.3 The two traditions of study 1.2 Definitions ofpragmatics 1.3 Pragmatic study of meaning 1.4 The notion of context 1.4.1 The early explications of context 1.4.2 The role of context in utterance interpretation 1.4.3 The dynamic nature of context 1.4.4 The manipulability of context Study questions Further reading Chapter 2 Reference and Deixis 2.1 The notion of reference 2.2 Major types of reference 2.2.1 Definite reference 2.2.2 Indefnite reference 2.2.3 Generic reference 2.2.4 Non-referential uses of referring expressions 2.3 The philosophical studies of reference 2.3.1 Two theories of reference 2.3.2 Two distinct uses of definite descriptions 2.4 Referential opacity …… Chapter 3 Speech Act Theory Chapter 4 Conversational Implicature Chapter 5 Pragmatic Studies of Politeness Chapter 6 Pragmatic Studies of Conversation Chapter 7 Presupposition Chapter 8 Cross-cultural Pragmatics Chapter 9 Application of Pragmatics:Demonstration Analysis Chapter 10 Pragmatics Ressearch Methodology References Glossary