A quick guide to Relevance Theory

Extracted text from A_quick_guide_to_Relevance_Theory.pptx:

A quick guide to Relevance Theory Abbreviated from: Relevance Theory and the Pragmatics of Translation Stephen Pattemore ATCON, June 2007

Relevance Theory: a quick guide (1) Human communication is not simply codelike. It relies heavily on inference.

The text

The meaning

Relevance Theory: a quick guide (1) Human communication is not simply codelike. It relies heavily on inference.

The text of a message interacts with its

context to prompt the audience towards the meaning communicated.

Relevance Theory: a quick guide (1 ctd) First Principle of Relevance: Human cognition tends to be geared to the maximisation of relevance. OR, TO PUT IT SIMPLY We understand messages by interpreting them in contexts that provide the best or most likely set of useful ideas

Aside: Some RT terms ostensive communication communication that signals its intention to communicate cognitive environment the set of facts I can call to mind and assume to be true ~ mental context => mutual cognitive environment cognitive/contextual effects useful spin-offs or results achieved by processing a text processing effort how hard I have to work on a text in order to get some good effects from it.

Relevance Theory: a quick guide (2) Relevance: An idea is relevant to someone when it has positive cognitive effects in one or more context open to that person An idea is more relevant to the extent that it has more positive cognitive effects An idea is more relevant to the extent that these effects can be obtained with less processing effort

Relevance Theory: a quick guide (3) Presumption of optimal relevance The stimulus (text) is relevant enough to be worth the effort to process it

The stimulus (text) is the most relevant one that is compatible with the senders abilities and preferences

Relevance Theory: a quick guide (3) Second Principle of Relevance Every act of ostensive communication communicates the presumption of its own optimal relevance. OR, TO PUT IT MORE SIMPLY When we receive an intentional message, we assume that there are good spin-off ideas that we can access for an acceptable amount of thinking.

Implicit and Explicit information The traditional distinction: Explicit = the text

Implicit = background, assumptions, context, implied conclusions

Implict and Explicit information Relevance Theory approach:

Explicatures

Implicatures

 Explicatures: Derived from the actual form of the text Include ideas which result from Reference assignment Dis-ambiguation Enrichment

Implicatures: Can only be derived from the interaction of text and context (by the second principle of relevance)