Semantics studies literal meaning; pragmatics studies meaning in context and speaker intention; discourse analysis studies how language is organized and functions across sentences, turns, or whole texts. They overlap, but differ mainly in unit of analysis and focus.[seas3.elte][assets.cambridge]
Core distinction
| Field | Main question | Typical unit | Examples of focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Semantics | What does an expression mean in itself? | Words, phrases, sentences | Word meaning, synonymy, ambiguity, truth conditions |
| Pragmatics | What does the speaker mean by using it here? | Utterances in context | Implicature, speech acts, politeness, deixis, reference |
| Discourse analysis | How is communication structured and what is it doing? | Conversations, texts, interactions | Turn-taking, cohesion, narrative structure, power/ideology, genre |
Semantics treats meaning largely as a property of linguistic expressions, abstracted from particular speakers and situations; pragmatics adds the speaker, hearer, purpose, and situation.[seas3.elte][assets.cambridge]
Semantics vs pragmatics
- Semantics: “Can you pass the salt?” literally asks whether the hearer has the physical ability to pass salt.
- Pragmatics: In a dinner-table context, it is normally understood as a polite request to pass the salt.
Pragmatics explains that gap between literal meaning and intended meaning through context, shared assumptions, and speaker goals.[seas3.elte][assets.cambridge]
Where discourse analysis fits
Discourse analysis looks beyond a single utterance: it examines how utterances connect into a coherent conversation or text, and how participants manage interaction. It studies language “above the sentence,” including conversational exchanges and written texts.[seas3.elte][blackwellpublishing]
For example, in a meeting, discourse analysis might examine:
- Who interrupts whom and how turns are allocated.
- How a speaker uses “however,” “so,” and pronouns to connect ideas.
- How repeated framing constructs authority, blame, or consensus.
Pragmatics may explain a particular indirect request or implication; discourse analysis explains how those moves contribute to the larger interaction.[blackwellpublishing][pdfs.semanticscholar]
How they relate
A useful shorthand:
- Semantics: meaning encoded by language.
- Pragmatics: meaning created through language use in context.
- Discourse analysis: how language use is organized and functions in real communication.[seas3.elte][pdfs.semanticscholar][lancaster.ac]
They are not rigidly separate boxes. Pragmatics often supplies concepts that discourse analysts use—such as speech acts, implicature, and deixis—while discourse analysis provides a broader framework for studying actual conversations and texts.[blackwellpublishing][pdfs.semanticscholar]
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