The Adaptation-Relevance Model

The dissertation is a tentative study of the model of communication, with a view to explaining the production and interpretation of language in daily communication. The theoretical framework referenced in this thesis is mainly derived from the Relevance Theory proposed by Sperber and Wilson (1986,1995) and Adaptation Theory initiated and elaborated by Verschueren (1987,1995,1998,1999), together with some other pragmatic theories such as Code Theory and Conversational Implicature Theory'. The Code Theory and Conversational Implicature Theory provide us with the starting point from which we approach the research topic, and Adaptation Theory and Relevance Theory integrated as the adaptation-relevance model will be exploited as a tool to understand the production and interpretation of language in daily communication. The new model claims the following points:First, language use consists in continuous making of linguistic choices, which occurs in both production and interpretation. To achieve successful communication, the communicator continuously makes linguistic choices in accordance with optimal relevance. Every act of ostensive communication communicates the presumption of its own optimal relevance. The speaker's task is to make sure that the interpretation heintends to convey is consistent with the principle of relevance; otherwise, he runs the risk of not being properly understood. The hearer's task is to find the interpretation which is consistent with the principle of relevance; otherwise, he runs the risk of misunderstanding the utterance or not understanding it at all.Second, the process of adaptation-relevance is a dynamic interadaptation between linguistic and contextual choices on both the production and interpretation sides. Linguistic choices are made in their interadaptation with contextual correlates (i.e. aspects in the context that are interrelated with the linguistic choices). When an utterance is chosen, it is very likely to be an integrated process of choice-making, involving language and context at the same time. Linguistic and contextual choices are hardly separable, and language use should be regarded as unified and integrated processes of making linguistic and contextual choices. The communicative choices, which are made at all possible levels of linguistic structuring: phonological, morphological, syntactic, lexical, semantic, prepositional and textual, are interadaptable with their contextual correlates: physical surroundings, social relationship between speakers and hearers and aspects of the interlocutors' state of mind. Any construction intended for communicative purpose involves simultaneous choice-making at all these levels.Third, the communicator's presumption of relevance decides his choice of a particular style. In accordance with the adaptation-relevance model, the presumption of relevance is made during the process of adaptation, and it is the product of adapting his linguistic behaviour to those contextual correlates consistent with the principle of relevance. The linguistic choices and contextual choices are entrenched in mental representations, and their dynamic interadaptational processes are mediated by the adapting (mental) processor. As a result, the interadaptation between linguistic and contextual choices which are entrenched in mental representations has led to the formulating of presumption of relevance.Finally, the process of adaptation-relevance involves choosing strategies. Speakers choose not only forms, but also strategies. The non-existence of one-to-one form-function mapping suggests the presence of some motivation behind linguistic choices. Basically, choices of linguistic forms for the same communicative functions represent differentinterpersonal considerations. Though sheer transactions do occur, most of our daily encounters are interactional by nature. There are a whole array of social variables like age, sex, status and the like influencing linguistic choices at various levels.The new model can also be applied to explaining...