Speech Acts and Relevance: in Search of a Dialogue

Iwona Witczak-Plisiecka

doi:10.18778/1731-7533.21.2.04

Authors

Iwona Witczak-Plisiecka University of Łódź

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1731-7533.21.2.04

Keywords:

speech act theory, relevance theory, cognitive linguistics, hate, offensive language

Abstract

This paper comments on the notion of the speech act in the tradition of J.L. Austin (1962/1975) in an attempt to assess its relevance (sic!) in a relevance-theory-based research. Relevance theory (RT) since its introduction (Sperber & Wilson 1986/1995) has consistently rejected much of speech act-theoretic thinking, explicitly questioning its having a central position in pragmatics. Using the notion of “the speech act”, RT seems to ignore most of speech act-theoretic apparatus. However, despite the superficial divergence between the two frameworks, the advancements within RT, as developed especially by Deirdre Wilson, and her co-researchers over the years, are convergent with selected thoughts in the Austinian thought. The paper comments on selected points which bring the two linguistics approaches together.

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