Pragmatics And Culture: Approaches in Intercultural Communication

Abstract

This article examines the interrelationships between pragmatics and culture and analyzes the role of these relationships in intercultural communication. The assessment of language not only as a structural element, but also as a field of socio-cultural activity reveals the importance of the pragmatic approach (Knoblauch, 2008). In intercultural communication, the correct understanding of the context, the speaker's intention, and social norms is one of the main indicators of pragmatic competence (Wierzbicka, 2006). Politeness strategies, indirect expressions, and contextual meanings manifest themselves in different ways across cultural environments, which can lead to misunderstandings and communication barriers in the communication process (Cohen, 2012). The article explains these differences from a theoretical point of view and at the same time illustrates them with specific examples.

In this regard, the study of culture-related aspects of pragmatics is of great importance not only from a theoretical but also from a practical point of view (Ten Thije, 2020). The article examines how the same expressions are understood differently in different cultural contexts, what pragmatic errors can occur, and how these errors affect mutual communication (Žegarac & Pennington, 2000). At the same time, the importance of developing pragmatic competence in language learning processes to ensure mutual understanding in a global communication environment is highlighted (Cohen & Sykes, 2013). These results create a serious basis for establishing effective communication in international relations, translation, teaching as a foreign language, and multicultural societies. The article shows that a deep understanding of the interaction of pragmatics and culture is the key to success in the complex and diverse linguistic/cultural communication environment of the modern world (Hussan, 2024).