Is relevance theory asocial?
- Mateo Martínez, José (coord.)
- Yus Ramos, Francisco (coord.)
ISSN: 0214-4808, 2171-861X
Year of publication: 1998
Issue Title: Relevance theory
Issue: 11
Pages: 157-170
Type: Article
More publications in: Alicante Journal of English Studies / Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses: RAEI
Sustainable development goals
Abstract
This paper challenges the view that Sperber & Wilson's Relevance Theory is intrinsically asocial. To this effect, it is firstly shown how Relevance Theory provides a more satisfactory explanation of the "politeness" of imperative sentences than Brown & Levinson's treatment. Secondly' supposed examples of the theory's inability to explain socially motivated instances of language use presented by O'Neill are examined and shown to be well within its explanatory power. Finally, a more general argument is presented. Recent insights from evolutionary psychology are drawn on in order to demonstrate how Sperber & Wilson's account of the way humans interpret utterances is able to accommodate a social dimension.