First-ever Pragmatics My Share

The Pragmatics SIG is partnering with Osaka JALT to present: “The-First-Ever Pragmatics My Share”

If you have a pragmatics-related experience, you can present this for 10-12 minutes to a larger audience. This will be an informal setting and thoughts and discussion will follow. All are welcome.

When:  Saturday, March 1, 2025, 13:00 -17:00   

Venue: Osaka Jogakuin University (near JR loop line and Metro Tamatsukuri station)

Fee: Free for JALT members, 500 yen for nonmembers

Submissions: Title plus 50-100-word description; name and contact info.  Deadline: February 15, 2025

Submission form: https://forms.gle/p37B93LTP76DrXVV6

For registration: https://forms.gle/RbaYChfRkypsPHtQ7

Questions?     Contact Donna Fujimoto fujimotodonna@gmail.com

If you have a pragmatics-related experience, you can present this for 10-12 minutes to a larger audience. This will be an informal setting and thoughts and discussion will follow.

What is pragmatics?

It can be found everywhere in our everyday life. It is about speech and action that are expected and appropriate…but also when these are NOT appropriate. That is usually when we notice.

Here are some examples of possible My Shares:

A Multi-lingual asks: Is my L1 affected by learning other languages?

My L1 is Japanese, and I've studied English for 10 years, German for 7, and French for a year. I noticed my use of Japanese actually changed while learning these other languages. It is not always a positive experience; in fact, the worst thing was when I lost a boyfriend!! Let’s explore possible issues of bi- and multi-linguals.

Is it possible to be polite when refusing an invitation?

In my class, I used role plays where students offer an invitation to someone, and that person has to refuse. I noticed that students had great difficulty trying to be polite. When they directly translated what they would say in Japanese, the role play became rather awkward. I want to discuss what students can say to refuse but be polite.