1、Two Principles of Relevance,Relevance Theory is based on two fundamental claims, one about cognition, the other about communication. (Sperber&Wilson,1995:260)Human cognition tends to be geared to the maximization of relevance.Every act of ostensive communication communicates a presumption of its own
2、 optimal relevance.,More fundamental and general, make the cognitive behavior of another human predictable enough to guide communication.,Grounded in the Cognitive Principle of Relevance,The Cognitive Principle of Relevance represents Sperber & Wilsons basic assumption about human cognition. Sperber
3、 & Wilson argue that offers of information automatically raise expectations of relevance. More precisely, any utterance or other act of overt communication creates a presumption that it will be relevant enough to be worth the audiences attention or, in Sperber & Wilsons terms, “optimally relevant”.
4、This idea is expressed in the communicative principle of relevance.,Relevance=Cognitive effects/Processing effort,Cognitive effects: result from an interaction of new and old informationProcessing effortNewly presented information may: a. combine with an existing assumption to yield contextual impli
5、cations b. strengthen existing assumptions c. contradict and eliminate existing assumptionsS 3. 新信息与已有语境相矛盾因而放弃原有假设 。老王和小赵出差回来了吗？,Cognitive principle,According to Sperber & Wilson, an assumption is relevant in a context if and only if it has some contextual effects in that context.按照 S & W 的理论 , 语境效
6、果指新信息与旧信息相互作用产生的语境含意 , 即在交际中对已有认知语境的改变 , 产生新的认知语境 。一般说来 , 相关的信息会取得一定的交际效果 , 但她们将语境效果看作是 “相关”的必要条件 , 即只有取得一定语境效果的信息才是相关的 。 What sort of things may be relevant?When is an input relevant?,What sort of things may be relevant?,Intuitively, relevance is a potential property not only of utterances and othe
7、r observable phenomena, but also, of thoughts, memories and conclusions of inferences.According to Relevance Theory, utterances raise expectations of relevance not because speakers are expected to obey a Co-operative Principle and maxims or some other specifically communicative conventions, but beca
8、use the search for relevance is a basic feature of human cognition, which communicators may exploit.,When is an input relevant?,In Relevance-Theoretic terms, any external stimulus or internal representation that provides an input to cognitive processes may be relevant to an individual at some time.I
9、ntuitively, an input, which can be a sight, a sound, an utterance, a memory, is relevant to an individual when it connects with background information he has available to yield conclusions that matter to him: say, by answering a question he had in mind, improving his knowledge on a certain topic, se
10、ttling a doubt, confirming a suspicion, or correcting a mistaken impression.,In Relevance-Theoretic terms, an input is relevant to an individual when, and only when, its processing in a context of available assumptions yields a positive cognitive effect.,positive cognitive effect,Sperber & Wilson de
11、fine it as a cognitive effect that contributes positively to the fulfillment of cognitive functions or goals, to be more specific, its a kind of epistemic improvement.An increase in knowledge,Relevance is a matter of degreeComparative rather quantitativeRelevance Theory claims that what makes an inp
12、ut worth picking out from the mass of competing stimuli is not just that it is relevant, but that it is more relevant than any alternative input available to people involved at that time.Relevance=Cognitive effect/Processing effort (equal to relevance of an input to an individual),Relevance of an in
13、put=(Positive) Cognitive effect Processing effort,A. The next plane to Bosten is at 5:30. B. The next plane to Bosten is sometime after 4:00. C. The next plane to Bosten leaves 7,500 seconds after 3:25.A-B cognitive effectA-C processing effortWhen similar amounts of effort are required, the effect f
14、actor is decisive in determining degrees of relevance, and when similar amounts of effect are available, the effort factor is decisive.,Relevance of an input=(Positive) Cognitive effect Processing effort,Maximize the relevance of the inputs one processes is simply a matter of making the most efficie
15、nt use of the available processing resources.Relevance Theory claims that humans do have an automatic tendency to maximize relevance, because of the way our cognitive systems have evolved.,As a result of constant selection pressure towards increasing efficiency, the human cognitive system has develo
16、ped in such a way that our perceptual mechanisms tend automatically to pick out potentially relevant stimuli, our memory retrieval mechanisms tend automatically to activate potentially relevant assumptions, and our inferential mechanisms tend spontaneously to process them in the most productive way.
17、橘子,Communicative principle,The universal cognitive tendency to maximize relevance-to predict and manipulate the mental states of others.Knowing of human beings tendency to pick out the most relevant stimuli in their environment and process so as to maximize their relevance, a communicator may be abl
18、e to produce a stimulus which is likely to attract someone elses attention, to prompt the retrieval of certain contextual assumptions and to point him towards an intended conclusion.（对彼此有一定的了解）,Peter may left his empty glass in his wife, Marys line of vision, intending her to notice and conclude tha
19、t he might like another drink.Grice: not a case of inferential communication (affect the thoughts of an audience + recognize speakers intention) It violates the Co-operative Principle and the Quantity Maxim, and has no implicature.Sperber & Wilson think it offers no informative intention, but has co
20、mmunicative intention. (it can be optimally relevance and have implicature),Ostensive-inferential communication,The informative intention The intention to inform an audience of something.The communicative intention The intention to inform the audience of ones informative intention.Understanding is a
21、chieved when the communicative intention is fulfilled-that is, when the audience recognizes the informative intention. (Whether the informative intention itself is fulfilled depends on how much the audience trusts the communicator. There is a gap between understanding and believing. For understandin
22、g to be achieved, the informative intention must be recognized, but it does not have to be fulfilled.),Ostensiveinferential communication involves the use of an ostensive stimulus designed to attract an audiences attention and focus it on the communicators meaning. Relevance Theory claims that use o
23、f an ostensive stimulus may create precise and predictable expectations of relevance not raised by other stimuli.Peter touch Marys arm, point to his empty glass, wave it, put down, stare meaningfully/say “my glass is empty”,The basis for Communicative Principle of Relevance, which applies specifical
24、ly to ostensiveinferential communication: every ostensive stimulus communicates a presumption of its own optimal relevance.According to Sperber & Wilson, though, the addressee of an act of ostensiveinferential communication is not always entitled to expect the maximally relevant information, since t
25、he speaker may be unwilling or unable to give it. He is, however, entitled to expect optimally relevant information.,Summary,Relevance Theory is an inferential approach to pragmatics. It is based on a definition of relevance and two principles of relevance: Cognitive Principle and Communicative Prin
26、ciple.Relevance Theory is a cognitive psychological theory. It treats utterance interpretation as a cognitive process. It has testable consequences: it can suggest experimental research, and it opens to confirmation, disconfirmation or finetuning in the light of experimental evidence.,Relevance Theo
27、ry claims that humans do have an automatic tendency to maximize relevance because of the way humans cognitive systems have evolved.,From the speakers perspective, what counts as optimal relevance varies according to contextual resources of the speaker, the abilities, the aims, the interests (prefere
28、nces) of the speaker and even his credit. It also varies with the way in which information is made accessible.（表达方式）While from the hearers perspective, what counts as optimal relevance varies according to the hearers processing abilities or intellectual awareness（潜力） (alertness).,两个问题：说话者不说话preference最大的努力和最大的认知效果在此基础上出现了最佳关联理论,
