Acquiring Pragmatics introduces the current topics of research in theoretical pragmatics, and explores the issues facing language acquisition research and the new experimental designs which address them. The book also discusses the underlying methodology, which will help the reader to develop their own experimental designs. Key topics covered include the interfaces between pragmatics and language acquisition, the social and cognitive aspects of pragmatic competence, and the acquisition of pragmatics in autistic spectrum disorders and second language acquisition. Acquiring Pragmatics is key reading for advanced undergraduate and graduate students studying pragmatics and language acquisition.