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Relevance theory
- Handbook of Pragmatics
, 2004
"... This paper outlines the main assumptions of relevance theory (Sperber & Wilson 1985, 1995, 1998, 2002, Wilson & Sperber 2002), an inferential approach to pragmatics. Relevance theory is based on a definition of relevance and two principles of relevance: a Cognitive Principle (that human cogn ..."
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Cited by 174 (3 self)
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This paper outlines the main assumptions of relevance theory (Sperber & Wilson 1985, 1995, 1998, 2002, Wilson & Sperber 2002), an inferential approach to pragmatics. Relevance theory is based on a definition of relevance and two principles of relevance: a Cognitive Principle (that human cognition is geared to the maximisation of relevance), and a Communicative Principle (that utterances create expectations of optimal relevance). We explain the motivation for these principles and illustrate their application to a variety of pragmatic problems. We end by considering the implications of this relevance-theoretic approach for the architecture of the mind. 1
Relevance and Prosody
, 2005
"... Prosody provides both ‘natural’ and properly linguistic input to utterance comprehension. It contributes not only to overt communication but to covert or accidental forms of information transmission. Its function is typically to convey emotions or attitudes or to alter the salience of available inte ..."
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Cited by 14 (1 self)
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Prosody provides both ‘natural’ and properly linguistic input to utterance comprehension. It contributes not only to overt communication but to covert or accidental forms of information transmission. Its function is typically to convey emotions or attitudes or to alter the salience of available interpretations. How should these aspects of communication be described and explained? This paper takes a relevance-theoretic approach, focusing on four main issues: (a) how should the communication of emotions or attitudes be analysed? (b) how do ‘natural’ prosodic elements contribute to communication? (c) what does prosody encode? (d) what light can prosody shed on the place of pragmatics in the architecture of the mind?
Relevance Theory – New Directions and Developments
"... As a post-Gricean pragmatic theory, Relevance Theory (RT) takes as its starting point the question of how hearers bridge the gap between sentence meaning and speaker meaning. That there is such a gap has been a given of linguistic philosophy since Grice’s (1967) Logic and Conversation. But the accou ..."
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Cited by 5 (0 self)
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As a post-Gricean pragmatic theory, Relevance Theory (RT) takes as its starting point the question of how hearers bridge the gap between sentence meaning and speaker meaning. That there is such a gap has been a given of linguistic philosophy since Grice’s (1967) Logic and Conversation. But the account that relevance theory offers of how this gap is bridged,
Evidence and Interpretation in Great Ape Gestural Communication
"... Tomasello and colleagues have offered various arguments to explain why apes find the comprehension of pointing difficult. They have argued that: (i) apes fail to understand communicative intentions; (ii) they fail to understand informative, cooperative communication, and (iii) they fail to track the ..."
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Cited by 3 (2 self)
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Tomasello and colleagues have offered various arguments to explain why apes find the comprehension of pointing difficult. They have argued that: (i) apes fail to understand communicative intentions; (ii) they fail to understand informative, cooperative communication, and (iii) they fail to track the common ground that pointing comprehension requires. In the course of a review of the literature on apes ’ production and comprehension of pointing, I reject (i) and (ii), and offer a qualified defence of (iii). Drawing on work on expressive communication, I sketch an account of a mechanism by which ape gestural communication may proceed: the showing of expressive and naturally meaningful embodied behaviours. Such gestures are easily interpretable because they present rich evidence for a speaker’s message. By contrast, pointing typically provides poor evidence for a speaker’s message, which must therefore be inferred from considerations in the interlocutors ’ common ground. This makes pointing comprehension comparatively difficult.
Pragmatics, Modularity and Mind-reading Pragmatics, Modularity and Mind-reading
"... Abstract The central problem for pragmatics is that sentence meaning vastly underdetermines speaker's meaning. The goal of pragmatics is to explain how the gap between sentence meaning and speaker's meaning is bridged. This paper defends the broadly Gricean view that pragmatic interpretat ..."
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Abstract The central problem for pragmatics is that sentence meaning vastly underdetermines speaker's meaning. The goal of pragmatics is to explain how the gap between sentence meaning and speaker's meaning is bridged. This paper defends the broadly Gricean view that pragmatic interpretation is ultimately an exercise in mind-reading, involving the inferential attribution of intentions. We argue, however, that the interpretation process does not simply consist in applying general mind-reading abilities to a particular (communicative) domain. Rather, it involves a dedicated comprehension module, with its own special principles and mechanisms. We show how such a metacommunicative module might have evolved, and what principles and mechanisms it might contain.
Voice and expressivity in free indirect thought representations: imitation and representation 1
"... Authors who adopt free indirect style (FIS) are sometimes said to reveal or show the thoughts or ‘inner speech ’ of their characters (see Chatman, 1978; Ehrlich 1990) rather than tell the reader what those characters thought and did. The illusion that these characters are speaking is sustained by th ..."
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Authors who adopt free indirect style (FIS) are sometimes said to reveal or show the thoughts or ‘inner speech ’ of their characters (see Chatman, 1978; Ehrlich 1990) rather than tell the reader what those characters thought and did. The illusion that these characters are speaking is sustained by the use of so-called ‘expressives ’ or ‘subjectivity markers ’ (Banfield
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"... The central problem for pragmatics is that sentence meaning vastly underdetermines speaker’s meaning. The goal of pragmatics is to explain how the gap between sentence meaning and speaker’s meaning is bridged. This paper defends the broadly Gricean view that pragmatic interpretation is ultimately an ..."
Abstract
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The central problem for pragmatics is that sentence meaning vastly underdetermines speaker’s meaning. The goal of pragmatics is to explain how the gap between sentence meaning and speaker’s meaning is bridged. This paper defends the broadly Gricean view that pragmatic interpretation is ultimately an exercise in mind-reading, involving the inferential attribution of intentions. We argue, however, that the interpretation process does not simply consist in applying general mind-reading abilities to a particular (communicative) domain. Rather, it involves a dedicated comprehension module, with its own special principles and mechanisms. We show how such a metacommunicative module might have evolved, and what principles and mechanisms it might contain.
