隐喻的关联性论述

The Explanation of Relevance Theory for Metaphor

关联理论认为,言语交际之所以能够顺利进行,是因为交际双方都遵循着关联原则,即根据相关联的信息来认知事物。隐喻属于一般话语,不需要特殊的解释能力和程序,它是言语交际中一般认知推理能力自然发展的结果,从而揭示了隐喻理解的本质。关联理论对隐喻的阐释拓展了以往的隐喻理论,同时进一步表明:隐喻不仅是一种语言现象,更重要的还是一种思维方式,它使我们能更好地认识世界。

Relevance theory suggests that communication can go smoothly only because the two communicators follow the relevance principle—to understand the world according to related information. It also reveals the nature of metaphor interpretation, thinking that metaphor belongs to ordinary utterances, which requires no special interpretive abilities or procedures: it is a natural outcome of some very general cognitive and inferential abilities in verbal communication. The explanation of relevance theory for metaphor developed the existed metaphorical theories and further indicates that metaphor is not only a linguistic phenomenon, but more important, a way of thinking, which can help us understand the world in a better way.