1. Problems in Pragmatics:
* Understanding Utterances: Pragmatics deals with how language is used in context. This can lead to problems when:
* Ambiguity: A sentence can have multiple meanings depending on the context. For example, "I need a drink" could mean someone is thirsty or they want to go to a bar.
* Irony and Sarcasm: Understanding the intended meaning of these requires recognizing the speaker's intent, which can be tricky.
* Cultural Differences: What is considered polite or acceptable in one culture may be rude in another, leading to misunderstandings.
* Natural Language Processing (NLP): Pragmatics is challenging for computers because it requires understanding the nuances of language and context. This is a major obstacle in creating truly intelligent AI systems.
2. Specific Problems in Pragmatics Research:
* Formalizing Pragmatics: While there are theories in pragmatics, formalizing them in a way that can be implemented in NLP systems is a major challenge.
* Modeling Context: Understanding the context of an utterance is crucial for interpreting its meaning. This includes the speaker's beliefs, intentions, and the wider situation. Modeling this effectively is difficult.
3. "Pragmatics Problem" as a Misinterpretation:
It's possible you've encountered the term "pragmatics problem" in a specific context that hasn't been explained. If you can provide more information about where you encountered this term, I might be able to give you a more accurate answer.
To summarize:
There isn't one single "pragmatics problem." Instead, there are numerous challenges related to understanding and using language in context, both for humans and for computers. These challenges are actively studied within the field of pragmatics and NLP.