A Study Of Lexical Pragmatic Enrichment From The Relevance-Adaptation Perspective

In the process of communication,language communicators need to deal with the word meaning pragmatically based on the context,so encoded meanings of words will always be pragmatically enriched,which includes pragmatic narrowing and broadening.Relevance theory has been used to provide a unitary explanation for lexical pragmatic enrichment,considering lexical narrowing and broadening as the process of pragmatic inference in search of optimal relevance.But because relevance theory has its weakness in describing and analyzing language production and interpretation,some scholars combine relevance theory with adaptation theory.The thesis attempts to propose a tentative relevance-adaptation model for lexical pragmatic enrichment study based on the previous model proposed by Yang Ping and Ran Yongping.Lexical pragmatic enrichment is not only common in daily communication,but also widespread in literary works.However,lexical pragmatic enrichment in literature still has not drawn enough attention.British writer Oscar Wilde' s drama achievement mainly lies in his humorous language,distinguished wording,and extensive use of rhetoric.As a result,in understanding his drama An Ideal Husband,audiences have to enrich some expressions pragmatically.No previous studies are concerned with lexical pragmatic enrichment in the drama,so this thesis attempts to adopt the relevanceadaptation model to interpret lexical pragmatic enrichment in it and get new insights into it.The study shows:(1)Lexical pragmatic enrichment plays a significant role in shaping characters,expressing themes,forming unique language styles;(2)The choice of words is the product of relevance and adaptation.In search of optimal relevance,the encoded meanings of words need to be adjusted to contexts.Contexts include linguistic context and communicative context which refers to physical,social and mental world.The thesis mainly contributes to enriching the theoretical study for lexical pragmatic enrichment,and providing a new perspective for interpreting An Ideal Husband.