Whatdopeopledowhenusinglanguage？Howexactlyismeaninggeneratedwhenwecommunicate？Andwhyissomuchofwhatwemeanleftimplicit？Examiningthementalandsocialprocessesinvolvedincommunicatingthroughlanguage，UnderstandingPragmaticsisacomprehensiveintroductiontothesubject.thebookprovidesanoriginalandsystematicoutlineofthetheoreticalbasisofpragmatics，incorporatingitsmajortheoreticalperspectivesandexploringitsmethodologicalissues.andcognitiveaspectsinvolvedinconstructingmeaningthroughlanguageuse.Assumingnobackgrondinpragmatics，thetextprovideshelpfulchapter-by-chaptersummaries，suggestionsforfurtherreadingandresearchtopicsforfurtherstudy.JefVerschuerenisaSeniorResearchAssociateoftheFundforScientificResearch.Flanders，affiliatedwiththeUniversityofAntwerpwherehedirectstheresearchCenteroftheInternationalPragmaticsAssociation.