The Role of Pragmatics in Social Cohesion and Nation Building in Africa

Abstract

This paper navigates into some areas covered under pragmatics as one of the newest areas in linguistic studies in African universities. We will first have a survey of the theories and practices paying attention to speech acts, pragmatic acts, impoliteness/politeness and face, and socio-pragmatics. The other areas to be covered include lexical pragmatics, discourse markers. The next section will cover the application of the theories and discuss pragmatics and politics, looking at political discourse, pragmatics and the media, pragmatics and pedagogy, and pragmatics and culture with emphasis on ethnopragmatics. The final section will pay attention to pragmatics and literature, intercultural communication, health, agriculture, trade, religion, performing arts, pragmatics, and all forms of speeches and interactional contexts. The method for investigation is purely based on secondary data from works by African pragmaticists. We have suggested some recommendations for the expansion of teaching, research, and publication of pragmatics in Africa.