An Analysis Of Definiteness Of English Articles From The Perspective Of Relevance Theory

English articles as one kind of function words are one of the most commonly used words in English discourse. The research on English articles has long been a subject of general interest for linguists both at home and abroad. Many scholars have devoted themselves to the research on English articles; however, even now almost all previous studies only artificially describe their usage environment and provide a set of usage rules. Rare research studies the articles from a cognitive-pragmatic perspective. Definiteness is the grammaticalization of identifiability and nonidentifiability of referent(s). Meanwhile definiteness is a pragmatic concept. Indefmiteness, in reality is a kind of definiteness. The prototypes of definiteness in English are the definite article the and the indefinite article a/an, and singular noun phrases determined by them. English articles can not express any concept separated from nouns, thus definiteness is the major grammatical function and the main feature of articles. Grammar books usually divide the definiteness of articles into two types: general reference(s) and specific reference(s). However, in daily communication we find that the definiteness of articles can be separated a lot more than just the only two types and it is flexible and interesting in different contexts. Relevance Theory based on the cognitive-pragmatic perspective provides a quite convincing theoretical framework for explaining the definiteness of English articles. The analysis of the definiteness of articles from the perspective of Relevance Theory is no doubt more rational than previous studies.Many linguists and scholars have studied articles and their definiteness from different perspectives for a long time. Based on their achievements, the thesis makes an attempt to the analysis of definiteness of English articles and their specific applications in communication within the framework of Relevance Theory, aiming at some findings which can shed light on further research on articles and hoping that the thesis can guide people to interpret and use English articles appropriately in communication. Through the analysis of quite a number of examples within the theoretical framework, the thesis has come to a tentative observation that the interpretations and uses of English articles in communication are mainly based on the specific contexts, the hearer's cognition and inference, and the cooperation between the speaker and the hearer so as to realize the optimal relevance in Relevance Theory.The dissertation consists of five chapters:Chapter One is the introduction, briefly introducing the related concepts of English articles and definiteness, and previous research achievements. On the basis of the previous research, the author proposes a Relevance Theory-based approach to the analysis of definiteness of English articles, meanwhile stating the aims of this paper.Chapter Two reviews the previous studies of articles and definiteness, pointing out their limitations and setting forth Relevance Theory as the theoretical framework for the present study which can make an effective explanation for the definiteness of English articles.Chapter Three sketchily introduces the theoretical framework of Relevance Theory, focusing on context, ostensive-inferential communication and relevance principle.Chapter Four tentatively offers a comprehensive and thorough analysis of the definiteness of articles the, a/an and zero article 0 in the light of Relevance Theory. Within the theoretical framework of Relevance Theory, this part explains how the hearer cognizes and infers the definiteness of English articles in order to interpret and use articles appropriately to realize the optimal relevance and achieve successful communication.Chapter Five is the conclusion, summarizing the major findings of this paper. The theoretical and practical implications, the limitations of the present research as well as some suggestions are also discussed in this part.