Which branch of linguistics focuses on the study of language ‘in use,’ examining how contextual factors influence the interpretation and meaning of utterances beyond the literal definitions of words and sentences?

💡 Explanation:

Pragmatics is the study of how context, social setting, and speaker intention affect the meaning and understanding of language. While semantics deals with the literal meaning inherent in the words (meaning in language), pragmatics deals with meaning in context (meaning in use).