Jary, Mark
Is relevance theory asocial?
JARY, Mark. “Is relevance theory asocial?”. Revista alicantina de estudios ingleses. No. 11 (Nov. 1998). ISSN 0214-4808, pp. 157-169
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10045/5372
DOI: 10.14198/raei.1998.11.12
ISSN: 0214-4808
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.
Keywords:Teoría de la relevancia, Cortesía, Interacción verbal, Lingüística cognitiva, Comportamiento social, Relaciones sociales, Imperativo
Universidad de Alicante. Departamento de Filología Inglesa
info:eu-repo/semantics/article