Indeterminacy in verbal communication : a relevance-theoretic analysis of aphorisms

Indeterminacy of meaning, which has to do with vagueness of the underlying speaker’s intention, is a pervasive phenomenon in human communication, but researchers hardly ever address the issue, as it is notoriously difficult to account for. The relevance-theoretic notion of weak communication offers a viable explanation of how this phenomenon can be approached. This paper argues that weak communication and its satellite, that is, poetic effects, prove particularly useful to account for how aphorisms work. The focus is on showing that the process of aphorism comprehension, underlain by meaning indeterminacy, and certain intrinsic characteristics of the genre find a reasonable and comprehensive explanation when looked at through the lens of Relevance Theory.