Relevance theory and context selection: a discussion of Sperber and Wilson's comprehension model

This paper sets out to discuss a central feature of Sperber & Wilson’s information processing model, namely: their account of context selection. I will argue that S&W’s approach suffers a number of incongruencies and contradictions, resulting from their attempts to combine hearer-based processing strategies with the hearer’s ability to identify speaker-based intentions. This paper concludes with a discussion of S&W’s contributions to pragmatic theory in the light of Grice’s earlier proposals