Pragmática del español: contexto, uso y variación introduces the central topics in pragmatics and discourse from a sociolinguistic perspective.

Pragmatic variation is addressed within each topic, with examples from different varieties of Spanish spoken in Latin America, Spain and the United States.

Key topics include:

• speech acts in context and deictic expressions
• implicit meaning and inferential communication
• intercultural competence in study abroad contexts
• pragmatics and computer-mediated discourse
• politeness and impoliteness in the Spanish-speaking world
• the pragmatics of Spanish among US heritage speakers
• the teaching and learning of pragmatics.

A companion website provides additional exercises and a corpus of Spanish data for student research projects. A sample syllabus and suggestions for further reading help instructors tailor the material to a one-semester course or as a supplement to introduction to Hispanic linguistics courses.

This is an ideal resource for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students, at level B2-C2 of the Common European Framework for Languages, and Intermediate High-Advanced High on the ACTFL proficiency scales.

J. César Félix-Brasdefer is Full Professor of Spanish and Linguistics at Indiana University, Bloomington, USA.