Pragmatic Namespace
Core Definition
Pragmatic frames encode discourse-level communicative functions — what a speaker does with language rather than what the language describes. The primary semantic content is the communicative act or discourse management role, not a state of affairs in the world. Pragmatic frames are performative and context-anchored: their meaning can only be determined relative to the communicative situation — who is speaking, to whom, at what point in the discourse, and with what intent.
Formal template:
PRAGMATIC_ACT(Emitter, [Hearer], Communicative_Function, [Content/Proposition])
Key participants:
- Emitter — the speaker or writer performing the communicative act (always present, at least implicitly)
- Hearer / Comprehender — the addressee (often implicit)
- Communicative_Function — the discourse role: turn management, deixis, stance, greeting, structuring, etc.
- Content / Proposition — the propositional content being managed (optional; often implicit)
The critical distinction: Pragmatic frames do not describe the world — they organize interaction or express the speaker's stance toward a proposition or interlocutor. An LU like aliás (by the way) signals a discourse move, not a fact about reality.
Scope
Includes:
- Turn management: né (right?/isn't it), viu (you see), bom (well/OK — as turn-yielder)
- Deixis: eu, vocĂŞ, aqui, agora, isto, ontem, anteriormente (person/space/time/discourse anchors)
- Stance and positioning: na minha opinião (in my opinion), acho que (I think), com licença (excuse me)
- Greetings and address: olá (hello), tchau (bye), oi, prezado (dear)
- Discourse structuring: porém (however/contrast), aliás (by the way), em resumo (in summary), primeiro... segundo (first... second — enumeration)
- Face protection: tipo (like/sort of), digamos (let's say), por assim dizer (so to speak)
- Rhetorical patterns: self-answering questions (O que fazer? Estudar.), boasting framing
Excludes — see other namespaces:
- Descriptions of events, states, or changes in the world → Eventive / Stative / Agentive / etc.
- Category labels for communicative participants → Entity (falante, destinatário)
- Properties of communicative acts or messages → Attribute (sincero, claro, longo)
- Reporting or describing what was said → Eventive / Agentive (disse, explicou, perguntou)
Critical boundary — Pragmatic vs. other namespaces: Pragmatic frames are identified by function, not lexical category. A conjunction (mas — but) can be Pragmatic when it organizes discourse (Contraste) but Relational or Eventive when used in argument structure. The test: if the expression's primary role is to manage the interaction or signal the speaker's epistemic/attitudinal stance, it is Pragmatic. If its primary role is to describe the world or connect propositions logically, classify in the appropriate propositional namespace.
Subtypes
By communicative function:
| Subtype | Definition | Example frames |
|---|---|---|
| Turn management | Regulates who holds the conversational floor | Passagem_de_turno, Manutenção_de_turno, Tomada_de_turno, Confirmação_de_turno, Confirmação_de_atenção, Organização_da_conversa |
| Deixis | Anchors reference to the communicative context (person, place, time, discourse) | DĂŞixis_de_pessoa, DĂŞixis_locativa, DĂŞixis_temporal, DĂŞixis_discursiva |
| Stance / Positioning | Speaker expresses attitude, epistemic commitment, or self-positioning | Autoposicionamento, Epistemic_stance, Proteção_de_face, Opinião, Common_ground |
| Greeting / Address | Opens, closes, or establishes contact in an interaction | Cumprimento, Abordagem_inicial, Chamar_a_atenção |
| Discourse structuring | Organizes propositional content across turns or text | ConcessĂŁo, Contraste, Resumir, Enumerar, Coment_metacomunicativo |
| Rhetorical patterns | Strategies that exploit discourse conventions for argumentative or expressive effect | Pergunta_respondida_pela_prĂłpria_pessoa, Gabar-se |
Key distinction within Deixis:
| Deictic type | Anchors to | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Person | Communicative roles (speaker, hearer, third party) | eu, vocĂŞ, ele, nĂłs |
| Locative | Speaker's spatial position | aqui, lá, este, aquele |
| Temporal | Moment of utterance | hoje, ontem, agora, entĂŁo |
| Discursive | Position in the text/discourse | acima, a seguir, anteriormente, o seguinte |
Diagnostic Tests
Test 1 — Performative test
Does the expression perform a communicative act rather than describe a state of affairs?
✓ "Olá!" — greeting act, not a world-description → PRAGMATIC
✓ "né?" — checking for agreement/attention → PRAGMATIC
✓ "em resumo" — signals a summary move → PRAGMATIC
✗ "João disse que choveu" — describes a speech act but primarily reports content → NOT PRAGMATIC (Eventive)
Test 2 — Context-anchoring test
Does interpretation require knowing the speaker, hearer, or discourse position?
✓ "eu" — refers to the current speaker; changes reference with each new speaker → PRAGMATIC (Dêixis_de_pessoa)
✓ "aqui" — refers to the speaker's location → PRAGMATIC (Dêixis_locativa)
✓ "ontem" — refers to the day before the moment of utterance → PRAGMATIC (Dêixis_temporal)
✗ "João foi ontem" — "João" has fixed reference regardless of who speaks → NOT PRAGMATIC (Entity + Transition)
Test 3 — Discourse-position sensitivity
Does the meaning or function of the expression depend on where it occurs in the discourse?
✓ "porém" (however) — signals contrast with what was said immediately before → PRAGMATIC (Contraste)
✓ "em primeiro lugar" — signals position in an enumeration sequence → PRAGMATIC (Enumerar)
✓ "como mencionado anteriormente" — refers back to a prior discourse segment → PRAGMATIC (Dêixis_discursiva)
✗ "choveu" — truth value does not depend on discourse position → NOT PRAGMATIC (Eventive)
Test 4 — Non-propositional function
Is the primary function to organize interaction or express stance, rather than to assert a fact about the world?
✓ "tipo" (like/sort of) — hedges the precision of what follows → PRAGMATIC (Proteção_de_face)
✓ "na minha opinião" — marks content as the speaker's view → PRAGMATIC (Autoposicionamento)
✓ "com licença" — performs a face-threat mitigation act → PRAGMATIC (Proteção_de_face)
✗ "a porta abriu" — asserts a change of state in the world → NOT PRAGMATIC (Change)
Test 5 — Speaker-involvement
Is the speaker always implicitly or explicitly present as the primary participant?
✓ "eu acho que" — speaker is foregrounded → PRAGMATIC (Autoposicionamento)
✓ "bom..." — speaker signals a turn or discourse move → PRAGMATIC (Passagem_de_turno / Organização_da_conversa)
✓ "não é?" (isn't it?) — speaker solicits confirmation from hearer → PRAGMATIC (Confirmação_de_turno)
✗ "João é alto" — speaker is not foregrounded; sentence describes João → NOT PRAGMATIC (Attribute)