Revisiting Pragmatic Competence: An Emotional Perspective

This study revisits pragmatic competence from an emotional perspective, specifically, from the empathy. Based on the overview of the pragmatics and pragmatic competence, the current research finds that the traditional views on the pragmatic competence are mostly from the social-cultural dimensions. Language and emotions are richly intertwined: language can be used to convey emotions, and specific emotions are created from certain pragmatic behavior. This research proposes that pragmatic competence should take emotions into consideration, particularly pragmatic empathy—the ability to understanding the interlocutors’ emotional needs and willingness in sharing this understanding with the interlocutors in language use. It is suggested that pragmatic empathy run through the language in use. This research argues that the whole process of social interaction co-occurs with online pragmatic empathy: from the feelings of what to say to the actualization of it in a particular context.