Abstract
There would be no communication, business transactions or propagation of culture and beliefs but for the existence of language. Language is the most important tool for communication. The utterances human beings make are being governed by situation, event or occurrences at a given point in time. Meaning is derived based on the context in which the utterances occur and this is the essence of pragmatics. This paper seeks to carry out an analysis of some extracts in Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel using the relevance theory in pragmatics. Relevance theory as propounded by Sperber and Wilson (1986) claims to provide a logical and cognitive account of relevance in communication. The theory tends to explain communication that takes into account implicit inference. It argues that the hearer or reader will search for meaning in any given communication situation and having found meaning that fits his expectation of relevance meaning, he will stop processing. This is in effect is what this paper attempts to explore using The Lion and the Jewel. Speakers and writers often mean much more than they say or write and expect their hearers or readers to understand them. They will generally assume that some aspects of meanings that are not expressed in words are deducible from the context. This assumption is based on their shared environment, values, social conventions, words or grammatical structures.
Highlights
Language is one of the most fundamental aspects of human behavior and the development of language into a refined instrument of expression and communication is without doubt the man’s greatest achievements
Meaning is derived based on the context in which the utterances occur and this is the essence of pragmatics
It argues that the hearer or reader will search for meaning in any given communication situation and having found meaning that fits his expectation of relevance meaning, he will stop processing
Summary
Language is one of the most fundamental aspects of human behavior and the development of language into a refined instrument of expression and communication is without doubt the man’s greatest achievements. We can study phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics without really paying any systematic attention to the intentions of speakers or writers, the context of the utterance or text, or the effects they produce on listeners and readers. Utterances usually do not occur in isolation but as parts of larger amounts of language in use___conversations, radio interviews, news broadcasts, letters, e-mails messages, newspaper articles, chapters in books, poems, and many more Such larger units, especially when written, have traditionally been referred to as texts. Relevance Theory will be used in the course of this study
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
