Title: Relevance Relations in Discourse
Subtitle: A Study with Special Reference to Sissala
Series Title: Cambridge Studies in Linguistics 55
Published: 2006
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
http://us.cambridge.org
This book uses Sperber and Wilson's relevance theory to show that connectivity in discourse is a pragmatic rather than a semantic matter: it results from relevance relations between text and context rather than from relations linguistically encoded in the text. In two introductory chapters, Regina Blass argues that relevance theory offers a more explanatory account of discourse connectivity than do alternative approaches based on notions of cohesion, coherence and topic. In subsequent chapters, she introduces data from the language Sissala and shows how relevance theory can play an important role in guiding and constraining semantic and pragmatic analyses of these data. This approach reveals unexpected results - for example the detection of an interpretive use marker in Sissala, with implications for the analysis of so-called 'hearsay phenomena' in other languages - and leads to a new basis for particle typology.
"The greatest strength of this book is the originality of the research." Notes on Linguistics "B's study contains a host of interesting observations and ideas, and reading it is very thought-provoking and rewarding." Language
Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations and symbols; Maps; Introduction; 1. What is discourse?; 2. Relevance theory and discourse; 3. The interpretive-use marker r�; 4. Constraints on relevance and particle typology; 5. Baa: truth-conditional or non-truth-conditional particle?; 6. Defining in Sissala; 7. Meanings and domains of universal quantification; 8. Co-ordination and stylistic effects; Notes; References; Index.
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