The role of cultural context in interpreting pragmatic meaning
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v15i2.50669Keywords:
University students, Semantics and pragmatics, Cultural context, Politeness strategies, Teaching and Learning.Abstract
This study investigates how cultural background influences the interpretation and use of pragmatic meaning among university students specializing in semantics and pragmatics, all of whom are preparing for careers in teaching English as a foreign language. While these students possess foundational linguistic knowledge, there remains a gap in understanding how cultural variables affect the interpretation of indirect speech acts, politeness strategies, implied meanings, and figurative expressions. A total of 52 participants engaged in this mixed-method investigation conducted over four classroom sessions. Data collection involved Likert-scale self-assessments and performance-based multiple-choice tasks designed to assess both confidence and competence in pragmatic interpretation. Results showed that while students expressed moderate confidence, their actual responses revealed challenges in recognizing culturally embedded pragmatic cues. These findings highlight the importance of integrating explicit, culturally informed pragmatic instruction even in advanced linguistic programs. The study concludes with recommendations to better prepare future English teachers for cross-cultural communication challenges in their classrooms.
References
Bachman, L. F., & Palmer, A. S. (1996). Language testing in practice: Designing and developing useful language tests. Oxford University Press.
Bardovi-Harlig, K. (1999). Exploring the interlanguage of interlanguage pragmatics: A research agenda for acquisitional pragmatics. Language Learning, 49(4), 677–713.
Bardovi-Harlig, K., & Dörnyei, Z. (1998). Do language learners recognize pragmatic violations? TESOL Quarterly, 32(2), 233–259.
Bouton, L. F. (1999). Developing non-native speakers’ pragmatic competence: Insights from the study of imperatives in English. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Culture in second language teaching and learning (pp. 183–198). Cambridge University Press.
Cutting, J. (2002). Pragmatics and discourse: A resource book for students. Routledge.
Crystal, D. (2003). The Cambridge encyclopedia of the English language (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Herrera, E. M. (2025). Common Errors in the use of prefixes and suffixes by language learners. Research, Society and Development, 14(9), e2614949494-e2614949494.
Ishihara, N., & Cohen, A. D. (2010). Teaching and learning pragmatics: Where language and culture meet. Pearson.
Kasper, G., & Blum-Kulka, S. (Eds.). (1993). Interlanguage pragmatics. Oxford University Press.
Kasper, G., & Rose, K. R. (2002). Pragmatic development in a second language. Blackwell Publishing.
Kecskes, I. (2014). Intercultural pragmatics. Oxford University Press.
Kecskes, I. (2015). How does pragmatic competence develop in bilinguals? In E. Grillo & K. Jepson (Eds.), BUCLD 39 (pp. 34–51). Cascadilla Proceedings Project.
Leech, G. N. (1983). Principles of pragmatics. Longman.
Lyster, R. (2016). Pragmatic awareness and learner reflection. In Ishihara, N., & Cohen, A. D. (Eds.), Teaching and learning pragmatics (2nd ed.). Pearson.
Pereira, A. S. et al. (2018). Metodologia da pesquisa científica. [free ebook]. Santa Maria: Editora da UFSM.
Risemberg, R. I. C., Wakin, M., & Shitsuka, R. (2026). A importância da metodologia científica no desenvolvimento de artigos científicos. E-Acadêmica, 7(1), e0171675-e0171675.
Shitsuka, R. et al. (2014). Matemática fundamental para tecnologia. (2nd Ed.). Editora Érica.
Taguchi, N. (2011). Teaching pragmatics: Trends and issues. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 31, 289–310. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190511000018
Taguchi, N. (2015). Contextually speaking: A survey of pragmatic learning development. Language Teaching, 48(4), 445–472.
Thomas, J. (1983). Cross-cultural pragmatic failure. Applied Linguistics, 4(2), 91–112.
Thomas, J. (1995). Meaning in interaction: An introduction to pragmatics. Routledge.
Wierzbicka, A. (1991). Cross-cultural pragmatics: The semantics of human interaction. Mouton de Gruyter.
Yule, G. (1996). Pragmatics. Oxford University Press.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Enrique Moncayo Herrera
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
1) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
2) Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
3) Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
