Meaning and Relevance

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Language Arts, Linguistics
Cover of the book Meaning and Relevance by Deirdre Wilson, Dan Sperber, Cambridge University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Deirdre Wilson, Dan Sperber ISBN: 9781139334006
Publisher: Cambridge University Press Publication: March 22, 2012
Imprint: Cambridge University Press Language: English
Author: Deirdre Wilson, Dan Sperber
ISBN: 9781139334006
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication: March 22, 2012
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Language: English

When people speak, their words never fully encode what they mean, and the context is always compatible with a variety of interpretations. How can comprehension ever be achieved? Wilson and Sperber argue that comprehension is a process of inference guided by precise expectations of relevance. What are the relations between the linguistically encoded meanings studied in semantics and the thoughts that humans are capable of entertaining and conveying? How should we analyse literal meaning, approximations, metaphors and ironies? Is the ability to understand speakers' meanings rooted in a more general human ability to understand other minds? How do these abilities interact in evolution and in cognitive development? Meaning and Relevance sets out to answer these and other questions, enriching and updating relevance theory and exploring its implications for linguistics, philosophy, cognitive science and literary studies.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

When people speak, their words never fully encode what they mean, and the context is always compatible with a variety of interpretations. How can comprehension ever be achieved? Wilson and Sperber argue that comprehension is a process of inference guided by precise expectations of relevance. What are the relations between the linguistically encoded meanings studied in semantics and the thoughts that humans are capable of entertaining and conveying? How should we analyse literal meaning, approximations, metaphors and ironies? Is the ability to understand speakers' meanings rooted in a more general human ability to understand other minds? How do these abilities interact in evolution and in cognitive development? Meaning and Relevance sets out to answer these and other questions, enriching and updating relevance theory and exploring its implications for linguistics, philosophy, cognitive science and literary studies.

More books from Cambridge University Press

Cover of the book The Unfree Exercise of Religion by Deirdre Wilson, Dan Sperber
Cover of the book A Government Out of Sight by Deirdre Wilson, Dan Sperber
Cover of the book Gustav Mahler's Symphonic Landscapes by Deirdre Wilson, Dan Sperber
Cover of the book Co-Engineering and Participatory Water Management by Deirdre Wilson, Dan Sperber
Cover of the book The Writing Culture of Ordinary People in Europe, c.1860–1920 by Deirdre Wilson, Dan Sperber
Cover of the book The Language of Law and the Foundations of American Constitutionalism by Deirdre Wilson, Dan Sperber
Cover of the book A Cryptography Primer by Deirdre Wilson, Dan Sperber
Cover of the book Export Restrictions on Critical Minerals and Metals by Deirdre Wilson, Dan Sperber
Cover of the book Affect and American Literature in the Age of Neoliberalism by Deirdre Wilson, Dan Sperber
Cover of the book The Allocation of Regulatory Competence in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme by Deirdre Wilson, Dan Sperber
Cover of the book The Roman Monetary System by Deirdre Wilson, Dan Sperber
Cover of the book Bioethics by Deirdre Wilson, Dan Sperber
Cover of the book Patent Intensity and Economic Growth by Deirdre Wilson, Dan Sperber
Cover of the book Bilateral and Regional Trade Agreements by Deirdre Wilson, Dan Sperber
Cover of the book Discriminant Equations in Diophantine Number Theory by Deirdre Wilson, Dan Sperber
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy