A pragmatic analysis of intercultural Communication failures

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to explore intercultural pragmatic failures using the relevance theoretic perspective. In particular, the primary aim was to find out the extent to which the cultural contexts and perceptions of relevance of interlocutors influence the inference process in communication, and whether relevance theory provides adequate tools fur understanding the reasons for most cases of intercultural communication failures. The study was carried out on the basis of data, which was obtained from primary and secondary sources through observer participation, interviews and experimental analysis. The data was then analysed and described using the framework of Sperber and Wilson's (2004) developmental stages of the understanding process. The results of the data analysis showed that most cases pragmatic failures in intercultural situations arise mainly because the inference process is constrained by the cultural contexts through the culture-specific principle of relevance. The conclusion of this thesis, therefore, was that relevance theory provides the conceptual and descriptive tools which can fruitfully be applied to the analysis of most cases of intercultural pragmatic failures. This thesis is organized in such a way that chapter one basically gives a summary of the general frame work of the study. It displays the background to the study, statement of the problem, the set objectives, hypotheses, and the theoretical and methodological frameworks that have motivated the research. Literature review is also presented in this chapter. In chapter two, the intrinsic concepts of relevance theory are discussed in detail. The main argument of the thesis is presented in chapter three which discusses the implications of relevance fur intercultural communications.

Chapter four mainly deals with data presentation and analysis. Finally a summary of the findings and the conclusions of this study are given in chapter five.