Abstract
This editorial provides an overview of some of the new horizons that are visible from the pragmatic framework of relevance theory. While its roots lie firmly in linguistic pragmatics, the influence of relevance theory has spread – indeed, continues to spread – to a range of disciplines, some of which might be said to lie beyond its original domain. As well as contributing to cognitive sciences such as developmental and evolutionary psychology and the emergent domain of experimental pragmatics – relevance theory was, after all, originally conceived as a model of communication and cognition – a growing number of researchers is bringing a relevance-theoretic perspective to work in: literary and artistic studies; anthropology, cross-cultural studies and the social sciences; and disciplines as diverse as affective science, internet-mediated discourse and clinical practice.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-5 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Journal of Pragmatics |
| Volume | 194 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 7 Jun 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:In November 2019, a small group of academics, accompanied by an even smaller group of PhD students, met in the seaside city of Brighton, UK, for an event organised by Tim Wharton of the University of Brighton and Caroline Jagoe of Trinity College, Dublin. The event was supported by the University of Brighton School of Humanities Research Development Fund and the Beyond Meaning research network (comprising Wharton, Elly Ifantidou of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Louis de Saussure of the University of Neuchatel). While the event was light-heartedly entitled ‘Relevance-by-the-Sea’, its aims were serious: to discuss ways in which relevance theorists are currently looking out from their discipline and to articulate and encourage new directions through which relevance theoretic research might inform and be informed by work in other areas: to seek out new horizons.
Funding Information:
In November 2019, a small group of academics, accompanied by an even smaller group of PhD students, met in the seaside city of Brighton, UK, for an event organised by Tim Wharton of the University of Brighton and Caroline Jagoe of Trinity College, Dublin. The event was supported by the University of Brighton School of Humanities Research Development Fund and the Beyond Meaning research network (comprising Wharton, Elly Ifantidou of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Louis de Saussure of the University of Neuchatel ). While the event was light-heartedly entitled ‘Relevance-by-the-Sea’, its aims were serious: to discuss ways in which relevance theorists are currently looking out from their discipline and to articulate and encourage new directions through which relevance theoretic research might inform and be informed by work in other areas: to seek out new horizons.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier B.V.
Keywords
- Relevance theory
- pragmatics
- linguistics