Department

of Pragmatics (est. 2005, head: prof. Piotr Cap) is committed to the

perception of pragmatics as a functional, i.e. cognitive, social and cultural,

perspective on all aspects of language and communication. Our research, which

follows this broad mission, is regularly published by reputable international

publishers, such as Elsevier Science, Oxford University Press, John Benjamins, Multilingual Matters,

Palgrave Macmillan, Mouton de Gruyter, and Bloomsbury. Our members are involved in various

forms of international scholarly activity, such as journal editorships (Intercultural Pragmatics, International Review of Pragmatics, Lodz

Papers in Pragmatics) and service on boards of

scientific organizations (International Pragmatics Association, among others). The

Department participates in EU research and didactic projects (National Science Center SONATA BIS,

Knowledge Education Development Operational Program, LLP

DysTEFL, SILCC, Minerva QuADEM), and is principal organizer of several

conference series (New Developments in Linguistic Pragmatics, Linguistic

Approaches to Funniness, Amusement and Laughter, Political Linguistics), as

well as host organizer of international congresses (CADAAD, BEYOND LANGUAGE 2026). In 2008, members of the Department launched Polish Pragmatics Association. In 2012, following our initiative, the Senate of

the University of Łódź conferred the UŁ honoris causa degree on Professor John

Searle (UC Berkeley), one of the greatest post-war intellectuals and a

founding father of the discipline of Pragmatics (see the Polish TV documentary of John Searle's visit to Łódź ). Our members have been winners of prestigious

research awards (e.g. prize of the Polish Academy of Sciences) and

international fellowships (awarded by the Polish-US Fulbright Foundation, the

Humboldt Foundation, the US Department of State, and others).