Paradigms of Reading

Linguistic signs do not coincide with intended or interpreted meanings. For relevance theory, this theoretical commonplace merely demonstrates the inferential nature of language. For Paul de Man, on the contrary, it suggested that language is unstable, random, arbitrary, mechanical, ironic and inhuman. This book seeks to show that relevance theory is a more plausible account of communication, cognition and literary interpretation than the deconstructionist theory de Man elaborated from readings of Rousseau, Hegel and Nietzsche.

Autorentext
IAN MACKENZIE is an English language teacher, teacher trainer and coursebook writer and the author of numerous articles on linguistics and literary theory. He teaches at the Haute Ecole de Gestion, Lausanne.

Inhalt
Pragmatic Banality and Honourable Bigotry Relevance Theory and Spoken Communication 'Positive Hermeneutics': Relevance and Communication 'Negative Hermeneutics': Themes, Figures, Codes and Cognition Rhetoric, Blindness, Allegory, Ideology, Resistance Words, Concepts and Tropes Rhetoric as an Insurmountable Obstacle Words and the World: The Problem of Reference Mechanical Performatives The Madness of Words and the Enunciating Subject 'When Lucy ceas'd to be' Conclusion: Rhetoric and Relevance Notes Bibliography Index