Relevance Theory

关联论

A theory of communication and cognition which claims that human cognition is geared to the maximizing of relevance. New information is relevant if it interact with old information to produce various contextual effects, and the more contextual effects it produces the more relevant it is. On the other hand, the more processing effort it involves the less relevant it is. The theory claims that all communicative acts carry a guarantee of optional relevance - a guarantee that they have enough contextual effects and require no necessary processing effort - and that they are interpreted in the light of this guarantee.

一种信递和认知理论，认为人类认知适合于达到最大的相关度。新信息如果与旧信息互相作用并产生各种语境效果，它就是关联的，而且语境效果越大就越关联。另一方面，处理新信息的心理投入越大，它就越不关联。这种理论认为所有信递行为都保证达到最佳关联度——即保证产生足够的语境效果而心理处理又无需过多的投入，对每个信递行为的解释都依据这一保证。