ABSTRACT
Semantics and pragmatics constitute two areas of study of natural language. Although they are both concerned with empirical issues regarding how natural language works, we ought to be able to draw a principled distinction of the phenomena each studies. On a standard initial approximation, we can claim that semantics is concerned with meaning and pragmatics with use. This is not to say much until we understand what meaning and use each is or entails. But it provides a good starting point to explore how the semantics-pragmatics distinction might be drawn.
