Language — discourse — corpus: key vectors in linguistic pragmatics

The article reviews the history and current state of linguopragmatic research. It reveals that in the Russian research context it is the linguistic branch of pragmatic research that has become widespread. The definition of pragmatics by Arutyunova is discussed. The role of Yuri Stepanov, full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in the development of the Russian semiotic tradition of pragmatics is noted. New research areas and the most important modern Russian publications on linguistic pragmatics are indicated. In recent years, due to the increased role of computer technology, linguistics and other humanities have seen a transition from the anthropocentric paradigm oriented towards the individual as the main object of study — to data-centrism with its focus on processing big data, abstracted from the individual characteristics of the speaker. The research question arises: how does the «problem of the subject» change in this case, which is the basis for the pragmatic dimension of language, according to the well-known article by Yuri Stepanov «In Search of Pragmatics: the Problem of the Subject» 1981. The purpose of this thematic issue is to discuss the current state of research in linguistic pragmatics in interaction with current and promising areas of linguistics. The issue is dedicated to the 95th anniversary of Yuri Sergeevich Stepanov (1930−2012), an outstanding Russian linguist and semiotician, a pioneer in the study of discourse, pragmatics and philosophy of language in Russia.