The Discourse Functions Of Ellipsis And Their Explanation With Relevance Theory

Ellipsis is a linguistic phenomenon which leaves specific structural slots to be filled from elsewhere. Ellipsis is common in many languages. Previous studies of ellipsis most concentrate on issues such as the definitions of ellipsis, the criteria of ellipsis, the classifications of ellipsis, or how to reconstruct the missing material. Researches on the functions of ellipsis are even more limited. The rhetorical view holds that ellipsis is a figure of speech which can be used for stylistic or rhetorical effect. While the functional view, represented by Halliday and Hasan, regards ellipsis as a way to create cohesion. However, the discourse functions of ellipsis have seldom been systematically studied.This thesis ventures to make a tentative effort to find out the potential discourse functions of ellipsis. At the same time, relevance theory is used to explain why and how ellipsis has those functions.Two theories construct the theoretical basis of this thesis. One is Schiffrin's study of the approaches to discourse; the other is relevance theory proposed by Sperber and Wilson.Through detailed discussion, the following contributions are made.Firstly, the term"discourse function"is seriously defined. In this thesis,"discourse function"is defined as"the function achieved in spoken or written discourse which is produced in various contexts as the result of an act of communication". This definition can be understood from three aspects. First,"discourse function"is function achieved in spoken or written discourse; second,"discourse function"is function achieved in discourse appearing in various contexts; third,"discourse function"is function achieved in discourse as the result of communication through which particular functions are realized.Secondly, three approaches to the study of ellipsis in discourse are proposed. Considering the features of ellipsis, the author puts forward three approaches that are suitable to study ellipsis in discourse. They are (a) the conversation analysis approach; (b) the pragmatics approach; and (c) the interactional sociolinguistics approach. These approaches provide different perspectives to investigate the discourse functions of ellipsis.Thirdly, three discourse functions of ellipsis have been explored in this thesis. The three discourse functions of ellipsis are (a) the coherence function; (b) the information-focus function; and (c) the interpersonal function. The coherence function reveals the effect of ellipsis to make sentences more coherent. The information-focus function shows that ellipsis is a device to give prominence to the information focus of an utterance. The interpersonal function indicates that ellipsis can be used by communicators to interact and set relations among them. These discourse functions of ellipsis are deduced in accordance with the three approaches to ellipsis in discourse mentioned above.Fourthly, relevance theory is proved to be a powerful theory to explain the three discourse functions of ellipsis. The author sets up a relevance-theoretical model to explain the discourse functions of ellipsis. Contextual effects and processing effort are two keys in the process of explanation. Other notions like the presumption of optimal relevance, the context and extra effort are also applied in explaining different discourse functions of ellipsis. Besides, four relevance-theoretical comprehension procedures are introduced to make the process of explanation more specified.