In linguistic pragmatics norms can be seen as traditions that guide verbal interaction. In order to pin down the notion of tradition, we use a model of linguistic pragmatics that goes back to Eugenio Coseriu's system of linguistic competence and to the concept of tradition elaborated by Ramon Menendez Pidal, thus bringing together linguistics and philology. The functioning of norms as traditions is illustrated with two examples: with a routine of verbal politeness and with a narration style that is based on the aspect system of Romance languages and functions as a cultural tradition.