Question

When Jesse first met Nicolette, he extended his hand and said warmly, Nice to meet you. In response, Nicolette sighed, rolled her eyes, and simply said, Yah, in a very sarcastic tone. Jesse inferred that Nicolette was not excited about meeting him, based on her reaction. On which rule of language did Jesse likely base his decision?
A) phonological ruleB) syntactic ruleC) semantic ruleD) pragmatic rule

Answer 1

Answer: D) pragmatic rule.

Explanation:

While phonological, syntactic and semantic rules mainly rely on words when trying to understand a particular message, this is not the case with pragmatic rule. On the contrary, pragmatic rule takes non-verbal messages into consideration, which are also crucial for a successful interpretation of a speech. Jesse did not base his decision on NIcolette's words solely - he also relied on non-verbal messages, sighing and rolling her eyes.