From lyrics to meaning: Student reflections on pragmatic meaning in French song lyrics

Abstract

Pragmatics plays a prominent role in French language teaching, since it serves as the foundation for authentic communication that allows for interpretation beyond the literal meaning. This role is especially important in French language education, where different forms of language use often signal various levels of politeness. While songs have been generally used with children or school students, due to their characteristics that help with retention and rich use of mnemonics, there is a paucity of research investigating how songs can be used to teach French pragmatics at the university level. To address this gap, this study explored French Literature students’ reflections on pragmatic elements, such as speech acts, the cooperative principle, and deixis in songs. It draws on established theories by Austin and Warnock (1962), Searle (1969, 1975), and Grice (1975) to analyze how language use in lyrics serves communicative functions, not just artistic expression. Sixty French Literature undergraduate students enrolled in La Pragmatique (Pragmatics) classrooms in Indonesia participated in this inquiry. Data were obtained from interviews, reflective journals, and students’ reports on pragmatic analysis. This 15-week study employed thematic analysis across multiple data sources to investigate how French Literature students identified and interpreted pragmatic features in songs. The findings highlight that students analyzed songs not only at the level of lyrics but also by drawing on contextual cues such as emotion, cultural background, social situation, and personal experience in meaning-making. The findings further show that songs are favored among French Literature students, as they create a stress-free learning environment for A2 level French students. The implications and recommendations for the effective integration of songs into pragmatic instruction for French literature students are also provided