As an international businessperson,Deirdre,who already speaks Japanese,needs to be aware that in Japan numerous rules concern the process of thanking someone.Deirdre should take a class in the __________________ of Japanese prior to her trip to Tokyo.

A) pragmatics
B) syntax
C) morphology
D) phonetics

Pragmatics is the study of language in use and how it is affected by the context in which it is used. Knowing the specific rules and cultural expectations regarding thanking someone in Japan falls under pragmatics, making it the best choice for the class Deirdre should take. Syntax deals with the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences. Morphology is the study of the structure of words and how they are formed. Phonetics is the study of the sounds of speech. While all these fields are important for language learning, they are not as relevant to the specific topic of thanking someone in Japanese culture.