A Relevance-based Approach To Context Analysis In Pun

Context has been studied by lots of scholars. However, the researches on context are mainly focused on general features and functions. Only limited work has been done in the relationship between context and pun. However, with the strong rhetorical and artistic effects, puns are used more and more widely, not only in literary works, but in advertisements and daily dialogues as well. Relevance theory is the newest theory in Pragmatics. It combines the achievements in various fields such as contemporary cognitive science, linguistics, philosophy and behavioral science of human beings and attempts to answer not only philosophical questions about the nature of communication, but also psychological questions about the interpretation process in the hearer or reader's mind. This dissertation is thus intended to give an adequate analysis on context in pun within the framework of Relevance Theory in Pragmatics.This dissertation first introduces the major contents of Relevance Theory and reviews the general survey of context as well as its features and functions within the frame of Relevance Theory in order to provide background knowledge to readers. It then discusses the pragmatic features of pun and the features and functions of context within a specific environment—pun. Finally, based on Relevance Theory, the dissertation analyzes the cognitive process of interpreting pun, in particular, the optimal relevance from context selection in pun in terms of cognition, linguistics, situation, and culture.With this effort, the dissertation attempts to prove that context in pun is dynamic and optional and it needs the punster's ingenuity and, more important, the addressee's cognitive effort, to realize its values. Meanwhile, it also proves that...