Relevance Theory - Examples

Examples

Here is a simple example:
Mary: How many loaves of bread do we have?
Bill: five.

Bill did not say "five loaves". He also did not say "five loaves of bread". Both are implied with his reply. But both are somewhat redundant. What Bill said was just enough to understand his meaning. Mary fills in the missing context-mediated information, i.e. that the question was about loaves of bread and not about something else. She understands that they have five loaves of bread from Bill's one word answer.

Here is another slightly harder example:
Mary: Would you like to come for a run?
Bill: I'm resting today.

We understand from this example that Bill does not want to go for a run. But that is not what he said. He only said enough for Mary to add the context-mediated information: i.e. someone who is resting doesn't usually go for a run. The implication is that Bill doesn't want to go for a run today.

These examples illustrate an important point: speech underdetermines thought. What we say (write, etc.) is small compared to the thoughts which generate the communicative act as well as the thoughts the act typically provokes.