1996: 4. It means that pragmatics focused on the linguistics forms of a speaker in which they are correlated each other. Furthermore, it is based on
the speaker meaning and linguistics forms. Pragmatics emphasizes on the meaning of either word or sentence based on the speaker’s utterance and
context of situation. From the above statements, generally, definition of pragmatics
cannot be separated from language and context. Thus, it can be concluded that pragmatics is the study of speaker meaning of an utterance based on
context so that, the communication can run well. We have to realize that the ability of language is not only from the appropriateness of the
grammatical rules but also from pragmatics rules.
B. Context
To understand what a speaker means, we have to consider it with its context. Context is the important part in understanding about pragmatic
meaning because we can catch the actual meaning of a speaker when uttering an utterance which has intended meaning. By knowing the
context, we can assume what is meant by speaker utterance and how the hearer interprets what a speaker means in order to understand the intended
meaning of a speaker. Leech 1983:13 defines that context is any background knowledge
assumed to be shared by speaker and hearer and which contributes the hearer’s interpretation of what speaker means by a given utterance. Based
on Mey 2001:41 states that context is about understanding what things 12
are for; it is also what gives our utterances their true pragmatic meaning and allows them to be counted as true pragmatic acts.
From the definitions above, it can be concluded that context is the basic knowledge of what speaker and hearer have in their minds to
understand the speaker utterance and the hearer can interpret what the speaker means in his or her utterance. In pragmatics, context determines
what is said by a speaker and it does not refer to a single word or sentence but the speaker meaning.
According to Cutting 2002:3 stated that there are three sorts of contexts:
1. Situational context: the immediate physical copresence, the situation where the interaction is taking place at the moment of
speaking. Example:
A male lecture from London is explaining a mathematical
problem to a male pupil from London, named Berkam: Lecturer : Forty-nine? Why do you say forty-nine?
Pupil
: Cos there’s another one here.
Lecturer : Right, we’ve got forty-nine there, haven’t we? But
there’s two, okay? Now, what is it that we’ve got two of? Well, let me give you a clue. Erm, this here is forty, that’s four tens,
four tens are forty. 2. Background knowledge context
The second type of context is that of assumed background knowledge. This can be either:
a. Cultural general knowledge that most people carry with
them in their minds, about areas of life. 13
b. Interpersonal knowledge, specific and possibly private
knowledge about the history of the speakers themselves. Example:
Her : How are you?
Him : Ok
Her : Did you have friends in and get a video last night?
Him : Oh, I had friends in but we just watched a little TV.
Her : All right.
Him : That was great, How do you feel?
Her : Ok
3. Co-textual context Co-text refers to the words or sentences surrounding any
piece of written or spoken text linguistic context. Example:
a. The cheese sandwich is made with white bread. b. The cheese sandwich left without paying.
C. Movie
