ERIC Number: ED409712
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1997
Pages: 12
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0959-2253
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Whose Relevance? Interpretation of Hybrid Texts by a Multiple Audience.
Ku-Mesu, Katalin Egri
Edinburgh Working Papers in Applied Linguistics, n8 p44-53 1997
A study applied Relevance Theory to interpretation of texts written in Ghanaian English, particularly those intended for reading by multiple audiences. The nature of such "hybrid" texts is examined and key principles of Relevance Theory are outlined. Relevance is defined in terms of contextual effect and processing effort. Contextual effects are achieved when new information interacts with a context of already existing assumptions in one of several ways; the greater the effort required to derive contextual effects (processing effort), the lower the relevance of the content. In addition, however, the greater the contextual effect, the greater the relevance. Analysis of several texts looks at contextualization, lexico-semantic variation, and syntactic variation. Proverbs are also considered, as a subcategory of hybrid text. It is concluded that two forms of relevance emerge from processing of hybrid texts: mother-tongue relevance and other-tongue relevance, and variation in assumptions that underlies this process is particularly great between different cultures. Contains 22 references. (MSE)
Descriptors: Audience Response, Communication Problems, Cultural Relevance, English, Foreign Countries, Intercultural Communication, Language Patterns, Language Research, Language Usage, Language Variation, Linguistic Theory, Proverbs, Reading Comprehension, Reading Processes, Semantics, Syntax, Vocabulary
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Ghana
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A