1998 3 ( 81 ) : 922107

Sperber Wilson ,
, ,
,
, ;
,
,
, Grice , Sperber
Wilson , Grice
D1 Giora D1 Wilson
,

: Grice

11

80 ,
, , ,
,
Sperber Wilson : ( 1986/ 1995)
( relevance t heory) ,
, 10
,
Grice ( 1975 ; 1981)
, (intentional) , ,
, Leech ( 1983) , Levinson ( 1983) , Kasher ( 1994) ,
Horn ( 1988) , Sperber ( 1983 , 1986 , 1993 , 1995) , Wilson ( 1983 , 1986 , 1993 , 1995 , 1996)
, ,
Sperber Wilson ,
L i ngua
,
, ( Journal of Pragmatics)
( IPrA) ( Pragm atics )
( UCL ) ( Relevance List ) ,
, ,
( Workshop ) ( Seminar) ,
 94

, ( Chomskyan
Grammar)
, ,
( speaker meaning) , ( utterance interpretation)
80 , ,
, ( , 1992) ( ,
1997 , 1997 ( ,
) ( )
1997) ( , 1992) ( , 1996)
, , ,
, ,
,

21

: ( 1986/ 1995)
( ) ,
, S1 C1 Levinson ( 1989 : 25)
, ,
,
,
Grice ,
( ruled2based) , ( maxim2based) ,
( Sperber & Wilson , 1986/ 1995) :

, ;
; ;
; ,

? Grice Sperber Wilson ,

, (code model) , ( inferential model)
, , 2 , 22
: ?
, , ? :
, ( mutual manifestness)
; , ,
, , ,
, :

( 1) A : Do you want some coffee ?

B : Coffee would keep me awake1

B , ? A B B , A
 95

, , :

a1 B does not want to stay awake1 (B )

b1 B does not want any coffee1 (B )
c1 B wants to stay awake1 (B ) OR :
B wants anyt hing t hat will keep her awake1 (B )
d1 B wants some coffee1 (B )

B , A ,
; ,
( explicature) ( 4 2 ) ,
: ( logical information) ( encyclopaedic informa2
tion) (lexical information) ,
,
,
, ,
( ) , ; , (ostensive) 1
, ;
,
Sperber Wilson ( 1986 : 158) :
,
, ,
, ,
, , ,
Grice , Sperber Wilson :
( 1986/ 1995)

( a) ( mutual manifestness)
, ( Sperber & Wilson , 1995 : 61)
( b) , ( Sperber &
Wilson , 1995 : 193)
(c) ( mutual knowledge) , ( Garman , 1990 : 366)
( d) (ostensive stimulus) ( Sperber
& Wilson , 1995 : 167)
( e) ( Sperber & Wilson , 1995)

?
, ( uptake) Sperber Wilson
, Gary Holden
( Higashimori & Wilson , 1996)
, Sperber Wilson ,
, , ,
, 10 ,
 96

;
2 , Sperber Wilson :
1995

31

: ( Sperber & Wilson , 1995)

, 1 ( communication) ; 2 ( infer2
ence) ; 3 ( relevance) ; 4 ( aspects of verbal communica2
tion) ;
,

311

: , Sperber Wilson ( 1986 : 158 ; 1995 : 260)

, , ,
, ( 1995 : 260266) :

( ) :
( ) :

, , ,
, , ,
? , ( most relevant) (optimal relevance)
? Questions on Relevance ( 1996) , Wilson ,
, ,
, Sperber ,
, , ,

: ,
( t he greatest possible effects for t he smallest
possible effort ) ; ( ade2
quate effects for no unjustifiable effort) , ,
, ,
( Higashimori & Wilson , 1996)
, , ,
, Sperber Wilson ,

312

( 1986 : 1182171 ) ,
( 1995 , : 31 32 ) , ,
; , Sperber Wilson ,
 97

, , ,
,
, , /
, ,
, ,
,
, Sperber Wilson , ( ) ,
, ,
, , , Sperber Wilson
( Sperber & Wilson , 1995 : 270) :

( a) (ostensive stimulus) ,
( b) (preferences) ,

(J ucker , 1997) ( Sperber

& Wilson , 1986 : 158) :

( a) { I} ,

( b) { I}

, , ( scalar
implicatures) , :

( 2) Some of our neighbors have pets1

( 3) Not all of our neighbors have pets1
t know whet her all her neighbors have pets1
( 4) The speaker doesn

, ( 2) ( 3) ( 4) , some not all ,

, and maybe all , ( 4)
Grice
, Grice , ( 2 )
( 3) , ( 4) , some some , but not all
, Sperber Wilson ( 1995 : 277) :

( 5) a1 Henry : If you or some of your neighbors have pets , you shouldnt use t his pesticide in your
garden1
b1 Mary : Thanks1 We dont have pets , but some of our neighbors certainly do1
( 6) a1 Henry : Do all , or at least some , of your neighbors have pets ?
b1 Mary : Some of t hem do1

( 5b) some not all t he speaker does not know Mary

, ( Grice )
 98

( 6b) , some , , , Mary

not all , Henry ,
, ,

313

: , Sperber Wilson
(conceptual encoding) (procedural encoding)
( Wilson & Sperber , 1993 ; Sperber & Wilson , 1995) :
D1Blakemore ( 1992) ( representational meaning)
,
; ,
,
( ) ,
( ) ,
, Blakemore ( 1987 ) ( Semantic constraints on
relevance) , ( mood indicators) ( discourse particles)
( discourse connectives) (illcutionary force) ,
, , , 3
,

314

, ,
, ( ) ( Sperber & Wilson , 1995 : 263) ,
, , , ,
( Sperber & Wilson , 1985 : 114215 ; 1995 : 265266) :

( ) :
( :
) ,
( ) :
1 : : , (
: )
2 : : ( : )

J ucker ( 1997 : 1122119 ) , ,

, ,
, ,
,

315
 99

( relevance to an individual) ( Sperber & Wilson , 1995 : 265266)

, ( positive cognitive effect ) , ,
( Wilson , 1996a) ?
( Sperber & Wilson , 1995 : 264) ,
, (cognitive efficiency) ?
Sperber Wilson ( Higashimori & Wilson , 1996) ( co gni2
tive efficiency) (intuitive connection) , :
, , ( ) : ,
, ( )
, ( )
( 331 ) , ( belief ) ,
, , , ,
? ?

, : ( 1) , , ,
( 2) , , ,
: ,
: , ,
,
, ,
, ;

316

, Sperber Wilson ( 1986 : 108 17 ) :

( 1) (contextual implication) ; ( 2 ) ( strengt hening of existing assump2
tions) ; ( 3) (contradiction and elimination of existing assumptions)
( Sperber & Wilson , 1995 : 294 , d) , ,
( weakening of existing assumptions) , , ?
Sperber Wilson (Brown , et al1 , 1994 : 37257 ; Higashimori & Wilson , 1996) ,
, , ,
?
: ( 1 ) Sperber
Wilson , ,
( contextualisation) ,
( Sperber & Wilson , 1995 : 286 , Note 26) ( 2 )
Sperber Wilson
, , ( by2product ) , ,
, ,
,
 100

317

Sperber Wilson ( 1986 ) ( central t hought )

( non2specialised) , , :
10 , , ( 1995 : 293)
, Wilson ( 1996b) , ? ( Modularity of
Mind) , Fodor ( 1983) , ( First
Law of t he Nonexistence of Cognitive Science) ; , ,
Fodor , , ,
: ( 1986/ 1995) , Sperber Wilson , ,

, ,
( Hirschfeld & Gelman , 1994 ; Sperber , 1996 ) Sperber ( 1996 )
, ; ( modular pragmatics)
, , (ostensive communication) ?
? , Sperber Wilson
(inferential system) , ( decoding system)

41 Grice

411 Grice

Grice ( new approaches to pragmatics) ,

, ,
, ,
,
? ? , :
? , ? ?
, ? Grice
, Grice , ( Ziv ,
1988)
Grice , ,
, ,
Sperber Wilson , 2 ,
, , ,
, ,
Grice , , ,
, , ,
, ,
, ,

( maxim of relation) Grice
 101

, , ?
, , Grice ,
Grice , Sperber Wilson Relevance : Com m unication
and Cognition ( 1986/ 1995) , , Grice
, Sperber Wilson ,
,
, Grice ,
(implicature) , Sperber Wilson , ,
, Grice ,
,
Sperber Wilson , Grice ( contextual assumptions)
, ,
, , , 2
, ,
Grice ( , 1995) Grice

412

Grice ( 1975) ( saying) (implicature) Sperber Wilson

( explicature) (implicature) Grice ,
, ,
, ; , , Grice
Sperber Wilson
, , : ,
Grice , ( 8 )
, ( 7) :

( 7) Mary ( sadly) : Susan has gone away1

( 8) a1 Mary is saying t hat Susan has gone away1
b1 Mary believes t hat Susan has gone away1
c1 Mary is sad t hat Susan has gone away1

, , , ,
Grice ( Wilson , 1995) Sperber Wilson
, , ( 7 ) , ,
Grice Sperber Wilson ( 1986/ 1995) ,
(contextual deductions) , , ,
:

( 9) A : Do you drink whisky ?

B : I dont drink alcohol1

( 9) (implicated premise) Whisky is an alcohol , (implicated conclusion)

 102

: B doesn t drink whisky Grice ,

, , B whisky is an alcohol : Gin is
an alcohol , sherry is an alcohol , grappa is an alcohol , vodka is an alcohol ; There is no alcohol in
Bs blood A B , : B doesn t drink whisky
, Sperber Wilson Grice ,
(implicature) Grice ( Carston , 1988) ,
Grice , ( entailments) ; , Sperber Wilson ,
, :

( 10) a1 Peter : Would you like to listen to my Rolling Stones record ?

b1 Mary : No1 I
d rat her hear some music1

, Mary : Peter ( Rolling Stones record) , Grice

, , Mary Peter
Peter ,

51

511 Giora

: ( 1) ( dis2
course2topic) , ( discourse coherence)
, Grice , Strawson ( 1964 ) Reinhart ( 1980 ,
1981) Brown Yule ( 1983) Giora ( 1985) ( 2 ) Berg
( 1991) ( usefulness) ( 3 ) Sperber
Wilson 80 ,
, , ,
,

: ,
, Rachel Giora ( 1997 , 1998) ,
, ,
, ,
, Grice ; , Sperber Wilson Grice
Giora (informativeness requirement )
Sperber Wilson , , ,
, Giora , ,
, ; ,
, ,
, Sperber Wilson
, ( derivational notion) ,
, , ,
, ,
 103

,
Sperber Wilson ( 1986/ 1995 ) ,
(cohesion) (coherence) , ( topic2relevant )
, , ,
, Giora ,
Sperber Wilson , ( 11) ( 12) :

( 11) Bill , who has t halassemia , is getting married to Susan , and 1967 was a great year for French
wines1
( 12) Bill , who has t halassemia , is getting married to Susan1 Bot h he and Susan told me t hat 1967
was a great year for French wines1

, ( 11) ( 12) Giora ,

, (coherence t heory)

512 Wilson

: ( 1 ) ,
( 2) ,
Sperber Wilson

Giora , Wilson ( 1998) , Giora
, , ( well2formedness)
( appropriateness) ( acceptability) ( desirability) , Giora

Giora , : ( 1 ) ,
( ) , / ; ( 2 ) ( )
, , ( ) ,
, Wilson , Giora
Sperber , :
, Giora
, ( 3 1 ) , Giora
Wilson , ( 11) ( 12 ) ,
, Giora , Wilson
Wilson ,
( 11) ( 12 )
, ,
, , ,
:

( 13) a1 Peter : What did Susan say ?

b1 Mary : You
ve dropped your wallet 1
 104

( 13b) , : ( 1) , Mary Peter ; ( 2 )

, , Giora ( 13) (ill2formed)
, ( Relevance Requirement ) , (
Sperber Wilson ) , Giora , ( 14)
, by t he way :

( 14) a1 Peter : What did Susan say ?

b1 Mary : By t he way , you
re dropped your wallet 1

Wilson , ( 14b) , ( 13b) ,

, ( 13) , ( 14 ) , ,
Giora ? Wilson ,

513

Sperber Wilson , ,
, , ,
,
, , ,
, Grice
Grice , , , Sperber Wilson
Grice , 2
, , ,
( ,
) , ,
J 1A1 Fodor , ;
, ,
( principle of economy) ,
, , ,
, ,
, , ,
, , ,

: ( 1 )
, ;
, , , , Sperber
Wilson ?
(2) Sperber Wilson ,
, ,
, Grice ,
, ( 3 )
,
 105

, , , ,
,
, ,
, , Sperber Wilson ,
( assumption schemas) , ?
, , , ,
, ,
, ?
? , ,
? ,
, ,

Sperber Wilson ,
,
, ,
, ,
, ; , ,
, ,
, ,
,
, Sperber Wilson ,
, ,
Sperber Wilson , ,
, ,
Grice ( 1975 , 1981) Horn ( 1988) Atlas & Levinson ( 1981) Levinson ( 1991)
, ,
; , ,

, Sperber Wilson , ,
2 , ; Grice
( social norms or conventions) , , Sperber
Wilson Grice , ,
, , ,
,
, , Leech ( 1983) ( Politeness Princi2
ple ) ( Goatl y , 1994)

61

, , , Sperber Wilson
, ,
,
 106

,
,
Wilson Smit h L IN GUA ( 1993) 2
, , ,
, ,

, ,
, ,
, , ,
10 , Grice ,
Grice , , ,
,
,

11 (ostensive) , , ,
, 2 , ,
21 Blakemore , D1 1992 , Understanding Utterances
An Introduction to Pragmatics1 Oxford : Blackwell1
31 21 : 297 , , ,
Randy J 1LaPolla (1996)

Atlas , J 1 D1 & Levinson , S1 19811 It2clefts , informativeness and logical form : radical pragmatics1 In P1 Cole (ed) Radical
Pragm atics 1 New York : Academic Press1
Berg , Jonat han1 19911 The relevant relevance1 Journal of Pragm atics 16 : 41124251
Blakemore , D1 19871 Sem antic Const raints on Relevance1 Oxford : Blackwells1
Blakemore , D1 19881 The organization of discourse1 In F1J 1 Newmeyer (ed1) L inguistics : The Cam bridge S urvey , Vol1 IV1
Cambridge , CU P : 22922501
Blakemore , D1 19921 U nderstanding utterances : A n int roduction to pragm atics1 Oxford , Blackwells1
Blakemore , D1 19941 Echo question : A pragmatic account1 L ingua 94 : 19722111
Blass , R1 19861 Cohesion , coherence and relevance1 Notes on L inguistics 34 : 412641
Blass , R1 19901 Relevance relations in discourse : A st udy w ith special ref erence to S issala1 Cambridge , CU P1
Brown , G1 , et al1 (ed1) 1 19941 Relevance and Understanding, L anguage and understanding1 Oxford University Press : 372571
Brown , G1 & G1 Yule1 19831 Discourse A nalysis1 Cambridge : Cambridge university Press1
Carston , R1 19881 Implicature , explicature and trut h2t heoretic semantics1 In Mental representations ed1 R1 Kempson 1 Cam2
bridge , CU P : 1552811
Davis , S1 19911 Pragm atics : A Reader1 Oxford University Press1
Garman , M1 19901 Psycholinguistics1 Cambridge , CU P1
Giora , Rachel1 19971 Discourse coherence and t heory of relevance : Stumbling blocks in search of a unified t heory1 Journal of Prag2
m atics 27 : 172341
Giora , Rachel1 19981 Discourse coherence is an independent notion : A reply to Deidre Wilson1 Journal of Pragm atics 29 : 752861
 107

Goatly , Andrew1 19971 The L anguage of Metaphors1 Routledge1

Grice , H1 P1 19751 Logic and conversation1 In S1 Davis , 1991 : 30523151
Grice , H1 P1 19811 Presupposition and conversational implicature1 In S yntax and Sem antics 3 : S peech A cts , ed1 P1 Cole & J 1
Morgan : 1832981
Grundy , P1 I9951 Doing pragm atics1 London : Edward Arnold1
Higashimori , I & D1 Wilson , 19961 Questions on Relevance, UCL Working Papers in Linguistics , No1 81
Horn , L 1 19881 Pragmatic t heory1 In Linguistics : The Cam bridge S urvey , vol1 I , (ed1 ) F1 Newmeyer1 Cambridge University
Press , Cambridge1
Ifantidou , E1 19931 Sentential adverbs and relevance1 L ingua 90 : 652901
J ucker , A1 19971 Review ofRelevance : Communication and Cognition (2nd edition) 1 Journal of Pragm atics 27 : 11221191
Kasher , A1 19941 Modular speech2act t heory : Programme and results1 In Foundations of speech act theory : Philosopical and lin2
guistic perspectives1 Routledge , London1
LaPolla , Randy J 1 , 19961 Grammaticalization as t he fossilization of constraints on interpretation , from U CL W orking Papers No181
Leech , G1N1 19831 Princi ples of Pragm atics 1 London : Longman Group Limited1
Levinson , S1C1 19811 Pragmatic reduction of t he binding conditions1 Journal of L inguistics 27 : 1072611
Levinson , S1C1 19891 A Review of Relevance1 Journal of L inguistics , No12 , Vol125 : 45524721
Papafragou , A1 19951 Metonymy and relevance1 U CL W orking Papers in L inguistics 7 : 14121751
Rouchota , V1 19941 On indefinite descriptions1 Journal of L inguistics 30 : 4412751
Sperber , D1 & Wilson , D1 19861 Relevance : com m unication and cognition 1 Oxford , Blackwell1
Sperber , D1 & Wilson , D1 19951 Relevance : com m unication and cognition 1 Oxford , Blackwell1
Wilson , D1 19981 Discourse , coherence and relevance1 Journal of Pragm atics 29 : 572741
Wilson , D1 & Sperber , D1 19911 Pragmatics and Modularity1 In S1Davis : 58325951
Wilson , D1 & Sperber , D1 19931 Linguistic form and relevance1 L ingua 90 : 12251
Wilson , D1 & N1 Smit h1 19931 Introductory remarks1 L ingua 90 : x1
Wilson , D1 19951 Is t here a maxim of trut hfulness ? U CL W orking Papers in linguistics 7 : 19722121
Wilson , D1 1996a1 Trut h and relevance in communication and cognition , Paper Delivered at Keio International Conference on t he
Interface between Grammar and Cognition1
Wilson , D1 1996b1 Grammar , pragmatics and knowledge , Paper delivered at Keio International Conference on t he Interface between
Grammar and Cognition1
Ziv , Yael1 19881 On t he rationality of relevanceand t he relevance ofrationality1 Journal of Pragm atics 12 : 53525451
(1995) , Grice , , 4 , 23227
(1997) , , , 4 , 1210
(1997) , , , 2 , 13219
(1993) , , , 2 , 9213
, (1997) , , , , 932104

: 510421
510421 97
Modern Foreign Languages No. 3 1998 : 922107 Guangzhou , China

A Review of Relevance Theory t he Essentials of

Cognitive Pragmatics

He Zi ran & R an Yongpi ng

Wit h t he aim to lay a foundation for a unified t heory of cognitive science and toget her wit h an attempt to
shift t he whole center of gravity of pragmatic t heory to a general t heory of cognition , D. Sperber & D. Wil2
son have proposed Relevance Theory ( R T) in Relevance : Com m unication and Cognition ( 1986/ 1995 ) ,
which has given a good indication of t he origins of t he whole t heory and outlined a speculative psychology of
inference. In R T , pragmatic interpretation is substantially seen as a psychological matter governed by t he
cognitive principle and communicative principle , t hus , it has been considered t he fundamentals of cognitive
pragmatics wit h its explanatory potential and promise for t he future , alt hough it is still at an early stage of
development . Controversial as some aspects of t he t heory are , t his does not diminish t he significance of R T as
a whole , it has proved to be a very powerful t heory which can account for a wide range of linguistic and cog2
nitive problems.
Since its first edition of Relevance : Com m unication and Cognition was published in 1986 , t here have
appeared many comments on and reviews of R T , among which some are more hostile t han friendly. Taking
t hese as challenges , Sperber & Wilson furt her refined t he t heory , t hus t he second edition wit h some modifi2
cations to t he original framework came out in 1995.
The following paper consists of five major parts. The first and second parts serve as an introduction to
t he present study of t he t heoretical framework of R T and its major contents. The t hird part deals wit h t he
recent revisions made by Sperber & Wilson wit h focuses on some significant changes of R T , including princi2
ples of relevance , presumption of relevance , conceptual meaning and procedural meaning , trut h and rele2
vance , positive cognitive effects , contextual effects and weakening of assumption , etc. The fourt h part
makes a tentative comparison between R T and Gricean t heory wit h reference to Grices saying & implicature
and Sperber and Wilson s Cooper2
s explicature & implicature since R T is explicitly intended to replace Grice
ative Principle wit h its well - known maxims of conversation. And finally comes t he conclusion. In t he fift h
part , t he debates on discourse coherence between R. Giora and D. Wilson are surveyed. Giora shows t hat
R T cannot account for discourse coherence as discourses may be relevant in Sperber and Wilson s sense while
being incoherent , t hus such discourses challenge t he claim t hat discourse coherence may be derived from rele2
vance. However , D. Wilson made a quick response to t he above arguments , in which some are critically con2
sidered to be misunderstandings. And finally t he present reviewers make t heir own comments on R T and
firmly hold t hat R T is t he fundamentals of cognitive pragmatics wit h a promising future.

Keywords : Cognitive pragm atics , Relevance T heory , Cognitive ef f ects , Gricean t heory

Correspondence : 1) He Zi ran , Faculty of English L anguage and Cult ure ,

Guangdong U niversity of Foreign S t udies , Guangz hou , P. R . Chi na 510421
< itz rhe @letterbox . scut . edu. cn >
2 ) R an Yongpi ng , Ph. D . Candi date , Faculty of English L anguage and Cult ure ,
Guangdong U niversity of Foreign S t udies , Guangz hou , P. R . Chi na 510421
< stypran @gduf s. edu . cn >