Russian 331/531
Structure of Russian II: Pragmatics

Students registered for this course can find additional information on Blackboard.

Structure of Russian II is the second half of a two-part seminar sequence focusing on the structure of modern Russian from the point of view of English base language adult foreign language acquisition. This seminar introduces advanced undergraduate and graduate students to principles of pragmatic theory and the practical application of those theories to the assessment of Russian language data. The study of pragmatics assesses speech as it is used in specific contexts to achieve specific communicative goals, and examines the linguistic means by which language users are able to understand each other based on linguistic, social and cultural norms in language use. Particular attention will be paid to theories addressing the means through which language users are able to communicate successfully, including speech act theory, politeness theory and implicature.