The Contextual View under the Relevance Theory

張軻

Abstract：In view of the traditional context，Sperber and Wilsons relevance theory proposes a cognitive context.The contextual view considers context to be dynamic，a series of hypotheses in the brain.In order to correctly understand the discourse in the process of communication，the hearer will extract the correct options from many hypotheses.This paper explores the contextual view under the framework of relevance theory and its factors affecting its choice and construction.

Key words：relevance theory；traditional context；choice and construction of cognitive context

Context is a very important concept in pragmatics.Because pragmatics requires two problems to be solved： the generation and understanding of discourse.The importance of context in the understanding and production of discourse is self-evident，but scholars hold different views on the definition of context.Some scholars believe that context can be divided into verbal context and non-verbal context.The verbal context refers to the context content in an article，whereas the nonverbal context includes the physical，social and cultural environment in which speech events occur.Other scholars define the background knowledge shared by the two parties to help understand the discourse as a context.

In 1986，the French scholar Sperber and the British scholar Wilson introduced the relevance theory in the book Relevance： Communication and Cognition，which opened up the study of cognitive pragmatics and proposed a new cognitive context that is different from the traditional contextual view.They believe that the existence of shared knowledge cannot be confirmed.Therefore，the basis of cooperation between the two parties is not shared knowledge，but the shared cognitive environment of both parties.According to Sperber and Wilson，a variety of aspects are included into context filed，such as the information from physical outside world，the previous context，expectations for the future，scientific assumptions，religious beliefs，culture concepts for anecdotal memory and the inherent views of the speakers psychological state.Sperber and Wilson defined context as： context is a series of assumptions made by the hearer to the world，and is the product of psychology.Unlike traditional contextualism，relevance theory regards context as a psychophysical construct，namely，a set of hypotheses that exist in the hearers brain.

Cognitive context is dynamic compared to traditional contextualism.Cognitive context is the encyclopedia of knowledge about the world stored in the brains of speakers and listeners，appearing in their participation in pragmatic activities as a background or cognitive condition.In order to achieve the best relevance，the listener constructs and selects this dynamic context in the process of communication，so that communication can proceed smoothly.

1.The Speakers Restriction on Cognitive Context

According to Crystal，context is related to the linguistic and non-verbal context of a discourse.Context under the relevance theory is a “cognitive environment” in which both sides understand each other in the process of communication.His views include the specific content and facts of the communicative scene，as well as the content of the mutual understanding for the environment and the background knowledge that is respective and useful to understand the scene.Sperber & Wilson believes that the relevance principle can influence peoples recognition of propositional forms.In order to reduce the efforts of the hearer to understand the discourse，the speaker often restricts the intentions he wants to show，that is，narrowing the hearers choice scope for cognition context.The first is to choose the language factor.

2.Principle of Resonance

Relevance theory is based on the definition of relevance and two general principles.These two principles are： first，the cognitive principle，which is human cognition tends to be consistent with relevance with the greatest degree； second，the principle of communication，refers to discourse produces expectations for relevance.In the process of verbal communication，the differences of work areas，life experiences and knowledge structures result in different cognitive and psychological states.When the speaker speaks a dialogue，it will have an expectation of relevance.The recipient will construct a series of contextual hypotheses，in which seek and select the context that resonates with the communicative intentions of the speaker，and correctly understand the discourse of the speaker，that is，the so-called “have a tacit understanding”.This principle requires： first，the scope of knowledge of the recipient and the speaker is similar； second，the cognitive ability of the speaker and hearer is similar.

3.The Influence of the Encyclopedic Knowledge of the Receiver on the Cognitive Context

Relevance theory holds that in language communication，the hearers assumptions about the world are stored in the brain in the form of conceptual representation，which constitutes the cognitive context for processing information.A fact about a persons mane-fastness means that the person can perceive the fact，can produce a representation about the fact in the mind，and believe that it is true or roughly true.In the process of verbal communication，what plays an important role in discourse comprehension is a series of assumptions that constitute the cognitive context of the hearer rather than specific context factors.Although human beings are in the same real world，because people are different in education，growth process and experience，they have a variety of encyclopedia knowledge，which in turn affects their cognitive ability，choice and construction of cognitive context and accurate understanding of the discourse.

4.Discourse Coherence and Choice of Cognitive Context

Relevance theory holds that the unity of decoding and reasoning is the scientific definition of communication.When the speaker communicates，the communicative intention is expressed in the form of language，and the recipient decodes and reasons accordingly to learn the communicative intention.In this process，the choice and construction of cognitive context is influenced by the coherence factors of discourse.

5.Balance Principle

The cognitive context of relevance theory includes long-term memory and short-term memory storage information，including encyclopedia knowledge and information perceived at the time.These multiple interests do not constitute a single context，but a series of contexts.In the process of language comprehension，it is impossible for people to use all contexts，but to try to select a particular context with appropriate efforts to achieve the best balance between the speakers information and the information they have obtained due to according to in the theory of relevance，communication is a ustensive-inferential process process.From the speakers point of view，communication is an explicit process，that is，the information intention is clearly displayed，and from the perspective of the hearer，communication is a kind of reasoning process where reasoning is based on the expressive behavior of the speaker and combined with contextual assumptions to obtain contextual effects so as to obtain the best information benefits.

6.Economic Principle

No matter what people do，they tend to trade for the greatest effect at the least cost， which is a natural tendency.The choice of cognitive context under the relevance theory is no exception.Because of the selective attention involved in the speech listening and recognizing process，the hearers are sensitive to the discourses associated with their own interests and they choose the context most relevant to themselves at this moment.Relatively speaking，the effort to choose such a context is small.

The pragmatic communication process involves two subjects，namely，the speaker and the receiver.Context is an indispensable factor in specific language communication，it has an impact on the entire communication process.The cognitive context proposed by relevance theory is more comprehensive and convincing to explain the process of pragmatic communication than the traditional contextual view.The contextual factors which people are based on are not static，so the rational choice and construction of dynamic contexts are more suitable for human cognition and communicative psychology.

References

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