The book is recommended as an excellent introduction to pragmatics but with a caution to read an introductory linguistics text first. The reviewer finds it valuable for understanding central topics.
An Amazon reviewer recommends this book as an excellent introduction to pragmatics, but advises readers to have some background in linguistics beforehand. They find the book valuable for its clear and integrative analysis of central topics such as deixis, implicature, and speech acts. The reviewer appreciates the detailed analyses and helpful exemplification that make the text accessible. Overall, the book is seen as a comprehensive guide, but best approached with some prior knowledge in linguistics.
Quick quotes
In sum, I would recommend this book as an excellent introduction to pragmatics.
The detailed analyses of selected topics give the student a clear view of the subject matter.
This textbook provides a lucid and integrative analysis of the central topics in pragmatics.