Adaptation Theory And Conversational Principles

The newly founded theory of adaptation by Verschueren in 1999 introduced a brand new perspective on languages in the field of pragmatics. The thesis begins with an introduction to theory of adaptation and the theories on which linguistic adaptation is based .According to the theory of adaptation, language use involves options on languages by way of adaptation, which is realized through four aspects of adaptations, namely contextual adaptability, structural adaptability, dynamic adaptability and adaptation in light of salience. In addition, the paper also reviews co-operative principle by Grice, which includes the four sub-maxims—quantity maxim, quality maxim, relation maxim and manner maxim. The thesis is designed to point out the similarities and differences between theory of adaptation and co-operative principle via comparison.