Understanding Pragmatics is the most comprehensive and current introduction to pragmatics. Presupposing no background in pragmatics, the book sketches out the theoretical basis of the subject and then systematically develops the major theoretical perspectives, to provide a full description of pragmatics as a coherent field of inquiry. The author then explores methodological issues, guiding the reader into the existing spectrum of pragmatics-related work. Focusing on pragmatics in its broadest sense, the book covers the whole range of social, cultural, and cognitive aspects of pragmatics.