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1
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Some remarks on non-conceptual word meaning and truth-conditional content in Robyn Carston’s pragmatics

100%
Mioduszewska E.
Acta Philologica
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2015
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issue 46
5-16
PL
Streszczenie Interpretacje konwencjonalnego znaczenia słów (rzeczowników, czasowników i przymiotników) zmieniały się wraz ze zmianami samej Teorii Relewancji (część opisowa). Jednakże, do czasu najnowszej propozycji Robyn Carston (2013, 2012), interpretacje te zakładały pojęciowy charakter omawianego znaczenia. Propozycja Carston, że skonwencjonalizowane, pozakontekstowe znaczenie leksykalne jest apojęciowe, asemantyczne, nieprawdofunkcjonalne i schematyczne wydaje się stać w sprzeczności z tą częścią relewancyjnej procedury opisującej proces rozumienia wypowiedzi, która dotyczy konstrukcji jej eksplikatury (część dyskursywna: krytyka propozycji Carston z perspektywy Teorii Relewancji).
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The Relevance Theory interpretations of standing word meaning have changed during the evolution of the theory itself (the expository part of the paper). However, until Robyn Carston’s (2013, 2012) new proposal, a conceptual (at least partly) nature of open-class items content was assumed. The claim that stable, invariant word meaning is non-conceptual, non-semantic, non-truth-conditional and schematic seems to be incompatible with the subtask of the relevance-theoretic comprehension procedure concerning constructing an appropriate hypothesis about explicit content of an utterance (the discursive, critical evaluation of Carston’s proposal).
2
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Parenthetical Clauses in the Qurʼān

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Dror Y., University of Haifa H., judror@gmail.com
Research in Language
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2018
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vol. 16
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issue 4
EN
In the few traditional Arabic grammatical sources that address the term parentheticals it is usually defined as the insertion of a clause between two other clauses, or between two syntactic components, for taʼkīd “emphasis.” In this article I examine Qurʼānic parenthetical clauses in the theoretical framework of relevance theory. It transpires that the parenthetical clause is placed where it achieves optimal relevance and therfore the conveyed utterance does not require the addresses to waste any efforts trying to procees the information and correctly interpret it. Optimal relevance also means having a contextual effect. The Qur’ānic parenthetical clauses have one of the following contextual effects: They serve to affirm God’s omnipotence, indicating that only God produces suras, created heaven and earth. He is the forgiver and all depends on His will; to explain what it meant by a specific statement or to explain the reason behind a certain action; to qualify, to highlight a specific characterization, for example, one of the parenthetical clauses modify the Qur’ān as the truth from God; to provide background information, which could explain further developments in the narrative.
3
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Relevance Theory, Epistemic Vigilance and Social Slogans

80%
Dybko K.
Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies
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2012
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issue 21/2
31-42
EN
The article contains an analysis and conclusions concerning the meaning of contemporary social slogans in the light of Sperber and Wilson’s Relevance Theory (1995) and the socalled Epistemic Vigilance discussed amongst others by Mascaro and Sperber (2009). The text begins with a presentation of the state of art of the contemporary research of slogans commonly existing in the social, economic and political spheres of life of modern societies. This is followed by an in-depth analysis of selected social slogans originating from billboards of the most popular social campaigns emphasising the innovative character of research and the significance of new theories in linguistic practice. The conclusion states the role of Epistemic Vigilance in comprehension of the often deceptive character of advertising campaigns.
4
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Parenthetical Clauses in the Qurʼān

80%
Dror Y.
Research in Language
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2018
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vol. 16
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issue 4
429-449
EN
In the few traditional Arabic grammatical sources that address the term parentheticals it is usually defined as the insertion of a clause between two other clauses, or between two syntactic components, for taʼkīd “emphasis.” In this article I examine Qurʼānic parenthetical clauses in the theoretical framework of relevance theory. It transpires that the parenthetical clause is placed where it achieves optimal relevance and therfore the conveyed utterance does not require the addresses to waste any efforts trying to procees the information and correctly interpret it. Optimal relevance also means having a contextual effect. The Qur’ānic parenthetical clauses have one of the following contextual effects: They serve to affirm God’s omnipotence, indicating that only God produces suras, created heaven and earth. He is the forgiver and all depends on His will; to explain what it meant by a specific statement or to explain the reason behind a certain action; to qualify, to highlight a specific characterization, for example, one of the parenthetical clauses modify the Qur’ān as the truth from God; to provide background information, which could explain further developments in the narrative.
5
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Relevance, ad hoc concepts and analogy

80%
Mioduszewska E.
Linguistics Beyond and Within
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2017
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vol. 3
155-168
EN
In Relevance Theory (RT) concepts are “enduring elementary mental structure[s] capable of playing different discriminatory or inferential roles on different occasions in an individual’s mental life.” (Sperber & Wilson, 2012, p. 35). They may be lexicalized atomic concepts, ad hoc atomic concepts not encoded in our linguistic system and some innate concepts (Carston, 2010, p. 14). Concepts may be shared between interlocutors, idiosyncratic but grounded in common experience or fully idiosyncratic and non-communicable. They are “arrived at through the mutual pragmatic adjustment of explicature and contextual implicatures.” (Carston, 2010, p. 10). Ad-hoc concepts are “pragmatically derived, generally ineffable, non-lexicalized […] rough indication to aid readers in understanding what we have in mind in particular cases.” (Carston 2010, p. 13). Concepts encoded will only occasionally be the same as the ones communicated because words are used to convey indefinitely many other ad hoc concepts constructed in a given context (Sperber & Wilson, 2012, p. 43). Apparently, RT restricts the construction of ad hoc concepts by the search for relevance (definitions of (optimal) relevance, principles of relevance and relevance-theoretic comprehension procedure) and the potential connection (narrowing or broadening) between the denotations of the encoded and constructed concepts. The mechanisms underlying category narrowing/broadening seem not to be explicitly described and explained. What provides a very general but, at the same time, precise account of concept-relatedness is Hofstadter & Sander’s (2013) understanding of analogy. The question posed here is whether this understanding may help explain concept-relatedness in Relevance Theory.
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Autentyczna komunikacja w dyskursie edukacyjnym: rola języka nauczanego i ojczystego

71%
Niżegorodcew A.
Neofilolog
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2012
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issue 38/2
151-163
EN
This article discusses different approaches to authentic communication, pro-posing a new definition of authentic communication in educational discourse, based on this author’ s application of Sperber and Wilson’s (1986/1995) Relevance Theory to functions of target and native language in the lan-guage classroom. According to the proposed definition, authentic com-munication in the L2 classroom refers to such uses of teachers and stu-dents’ communication which provides students both with linguistic data (positive input) and facilitates the learning process by explicitly focusing their attention on linguistic forms (negative input). After outlining some fundamental principles of Relevance Theory, the author exemplifies func-tions of the target language (English) and the mother tongue (Polish) in authentic communication in educational discourse in three stages of L2 lessons: in explicit grammar teaching, in fluency practice and in real class-room communication. Although it is claimed that the mother tongue should be preserved in monolingual teaching contexts, primarily for iden-tification and affective reasons, excessive use of the native language re-duces the target language to the function of a teaching object and, conse-quently, makes the educational discourse unauthentic.
7
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Interpretacja "w czasie rzeczywistym": struktura tematyczno-rematyczna a teoria relewancji

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Sax D. J.
Linguistica Copernicana
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2012
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issue 2(8)
173-203
EN
The paper examines the relationship between the abstractly understood Thematic-Rhematic Structure (TRS) of utterances, a theoretical approach initiated by Bogusławski (1977), and the "online" processing and interpretation of utterances in real time by the hearer. Focusin on three Polish examples, we propose a more dynamic approach to TRS based on ideas from Relevance Theory (Sperber and Wilson 1995), and redefine the notions "theme" and "rheme" in dynamic terms, from hearer's perspective. We present a formalis for modeling how the multi-level nature of TRS emerges out of real-time processing mechanisms: different theme-rheme divisions may arise at different (earlier or later) stages of processing. A main claim is that presuppositional and stylistic effects related to the flexibility of sentence stress position and word order in Polish can be explained well in such a dynamic model. On the sub-utterance level, both stress position and word order ("exponents" of TSR) serve to guide the hearer's investment of effort into positing and verifying hypotheses about the explicit and implicit content of the utterance as a whole, while processing by the hearer is still underway.
8
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A relevance-theoretical approach to King Stakh’s Wild Hunt: translating the Belarusian language and culture

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Peljak-Łapińska A.
Studia Translatorica
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2020
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issue 11
137-150
EN
This paper takes a relevance-theoretical approach to the English translation of “Дзікае паляванне караля Стаха” (1964), the Belarusian novel written by Uladzìmìr Karatkevìč – “King Stakh’s Wild Hunt” (translated by Mary Mintz, 1989). In doing so, it proposes a different perspective on the alleged ‘untranslatability’ of minority literature. The analysis takes into account various procedures applied to the different elements of the novel and reveals that Mintz makes strategic choices aimed at choosing the best solution for each problem individually.
9
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Yus's and Jodłowiec's Relevance-Theoretic Approaches to Jokes: A Critical Comparison

70%
Biegajło M.
Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies
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2013
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issue 22/2
87-99
EN
The prime objective of this paper is to compare Yus’s (2003, 2004, 2008, 2011, 2012ab) and Jodłowiec’s (1991ab, 2008) accounts of jokes based on the assumptions of Relevance Theory (RT; Sperber and Wilson 1995, 2002, 2004). To meet this objective, I explore Yus’s and Jodłowiec’s classifications and models of joke comprehension since there is a strong link between the two phenomena.
10
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The impact of direct speech framing expressions on the narrative: a contrastive case study of Gabriel García Márquez’s Buen viaje, señor Presidente and its English translation

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Linde-Usiekniewicz J., Nalewajko P.
Cognitive Studies
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2014
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issue 14
101-120
EN
This paper discusses an application of Relevance Theory methodology to an analysis of a literary text: a short story of Gabriel García Márquez “Buen viaje, señor Presidente” and its English translation. “Close reading” technique carried out on rather linguistic than literary basis allows for adding yet another layer of interpretation to this complex story. The analysis concentrates on the representation of direct speech and particularly on the impact of direct speech framing clauses on the reading of dialogic turns. Specifically, it is argued that the explicit mention of the addressee by indirect object pronouns (which are optional in direct speech framing turns) in Spanish makes the tension between the two protagonists even more palpable, therefore apparently courteous turns can be interpreted as defiant or otherwise antagonistic. In English similar role is played by the contrast between the absence of quotative inversion with subject pronouns and its presence when speakers are identified by full nominals. The parallel effect in both linguistic versions is traced to the distinction between linguistic items carrying mainly conceptual meaning (nominals) and carrying mainly procedural meaning (pronouns) and to the different ways these two kind of elements are processed in comprehension. The paper also provides some arguments for leaving aside literary considerations and treating a literary text as an act of ostensive communication.
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Effect of Prosody on Disambiguation: A Case of Universal Quantifier and Negation

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Ananth P., Kamiya M.
Theory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition
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2015
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vol. 1
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issue 1
EN
This study is concerned with L2 Japanese learners’ interpretation of scopally ambiguous sentences containing negation and universal quantifier using prosodic cues. It has been argued, in previous literature, that native adult speakers of English as well as Japanese interpret such sentences both on their surface (total negation) as well as inverse scope (partial negation) readings in the presence of prosodic cues. The present study shows, however, that L2 Japanese speakers predominantly favor the total negation reading even in situations where the prosodic cues point them to the partial reading. These outcomes indicate that L2 learners of Japanese do not attach “optimal relevance” to prosodic cues when disambiguating scopally ambiguous sentences. The results also imply that for L2 Japanese learners, clues other than prosody may be required to carry out disambiguation.
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A Relevance-Theoretic Classification of Jokes

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Yus F.
Lodz Papers in Pragmatics
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2008
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vol. 4
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issue 1
131-157
EN
Relevance Theory pictures communication as an inferential activity that adjusts, in parallel, the explicit content of utterances, the implicated premises and conclusions that can be derived, and the right amount of contextual information needed to obtain them. When applied to jokes, a relevance-theoretic classification may be proposed depending on whether the humorist plays with the audience's inferential activity aimed at an explicit interpretation, with the audience's inference devoted to deriving implications or with their access to the right amount and quality of contextual information needed to obtain relevant interpretations. In this paper three types of jokes are proposed which focus on these aspects. A fourth type is also added, but this time referred to broad contextual assumptions on social or cultural values of society that are targeted by humorists.
13
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(Inter?)Subjectivity of Explicit Content in Relevance Theory

61%
Mioduszewska E.
Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies
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2014
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issue 23/2
103-112
EN
Relevance Theory (RT) (Sperber – Wilson 1986 [1995], Wilson – Sperber 2004) postulates the existence of explicit content in utterance meaning, called explicature. The explicitness of explicatures might be expected to consist, among other properties, in their intersubjectivity. However, the RT theoretical assumptions and tools crucial to explicature construction and identification all seem to be individual-relative and, as such, subjective. If so, the explicitness of explicature needs further elaboration.
14

Intercultural aspects of the speech act of promising from a relevance theoretic point of view

51%
Blass R.
Lodz Papers in Pragmatics
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2012
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vol. 8
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issue 1
131-154
EN
This study on the Speech Act of Promising builds on an article by Egner (2005) which claims that in many African Societies a promise is most often made not to be committed to its content but to be polite and save one's own or the addressee's face. While Egner opts for a Speech Act Theory approach to explain the phenomenon and comes to the conclusion that the speech act of promising may occur minus commitment, thus refuting the standard SAT claim, I have opted to treat the issue within Relevance Theory and claim that a true speech act of promising cannot be without commitment since it is a performative and institutional speech act which has to be committed by its very nature. I have rather explained that the concept PROMISE can be used as an ad hoc concept PROMISE* which conveys a speech act of "saying that" and which is a broadened version of the encoded concept to make commitment optional and include issues of politeness and face saving. While Egner claims that a committed speech act can be determined by linguistic indication most of the time I claim that the intended interpretation falls out naturally from the relevance theoretic comprehension procedure which is: "Follow the path of least effort in determining cognitive effects and stop when your expectation of relevance is fulfilled". Unlike Egner I claim that at the root of using non-committed promises as a face saving device are shame oriented cultures that need these kinds of mechanisms for politeness more than guilt oriented cultures.
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A Relevance–Theoretical Account of Three Arabic Pragmatic Operators of Concession in a Political Discourse

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Al-Jarrah R. S., Abu Dalu A. M., Jarrah M.
Lodz Papers in Pragmatics
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2016
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vol. 11
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issue 1
51-76
EN
The present study aims at explaining how the Relevance Theory could be a viable approach to weigh up the main functions of some concessive Pragmatic Operators (henceforth POs) in Jordanian Arabic at the production and interpretation levels. A sample of twenty-two speeches delivered by members of the Jordanian Parliament the 16th was randomly selected for scrutiny. Three POs (namely, laakin, bal and wa) detected in their speeches were analyzed at the token level in light of three elementary RT assumptions about discourse connectives in general, namely connectivity (Fraser 1996), the conceptual-procedural distinction (Blakemore 1987, 1988, 1992, 2002; Wilson and Sperber 1993; Grice 1989), and monosemy (Fretheim 2000; cf. Borderia 2008). The major finding of this study was that concessive POs, as a subset of contrastives, are used to optimize relevance: highlight certain dimensions and/or suppress others of the scenario to the background. However, the point of departure from possibly all previous treatments is that the speakers, as politicians, still used them more strategically because total ambiguity resolution should not be a viable alternative in social settings laden with politics.
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Humorous and Non-Humorous Effects in Sitcoms: a Relevance-Theoretic Perspective

41%
Wieczorek M.
Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis. Studia Linguistica
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2020
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issue 15
312-323
EN
Humorous utterances can be divided into those which are created for their own sake (that is, to amuse others), dubbed autotelic humour, and those which communicate truthful and/or untruthful meanings germane to the ongoing conversation, dubbed speaker-meaning-telic humour (Dynel 2018). The present paper carries out a qualitative analysis of humorous units in sitcom discourse with a view to delineating a number of propositional meanings, which can be potentially derived by the TV recipients. Special attention is confined to one of the most powerful tools used to explain humour in various humorous manifestations, i.e. weak implicatures (Sperber and Wilson 1986 [1995]; Wilson and Sperber 2004). It is believed here that pragmatic COMPREHENSION mechanisms proposed within Relevance Theory and the notion of weakly communicated assumptions are two sides of the same coin since these account not only for the viewer’s recovery of a humorous interpretation but also of an array of non-humorous propositional meanings. Moreover, the participatory framework has been employed as an additional parameter to show the difference in the reception of a dialogue by fictional characters and the viewers.
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Cognitive Pragmatics Ways into Discourse Analysis: the Case of Discursive Presuppostions

41%
de Saussure L.
Lodz Papers in Pragmatics
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2012
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vol. 8
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issue 1
37-59
EN
This paper aims at showing how pragmatics, today a discipline developing in close connection with cognitive science and evolutionary psychology, provides new ways to envisage Discourse Analysis. In this article, we first discuss the relationship between pragmatics and Discourse Analysis, focusing on the links between the process of utterance understanding, which is in the scope of pragmatic theories, and consenting to beliefs (influence), which is in the scope of Discourse Analysis (section 2). Next (section 3), we introduce an extended notion of presuppositions which we name discursive presuppositions, which are unexpressed contents but nonetheless propositions that need to be incorporated in the background and thus consented to in order to provide not meaning proper but relevance to the utterance. Last section (section 4) is dedicated to the examination of two examples where discursive presuppositions are exploited in persuasiveness.
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