Hello everyone,
I am presently writing my MA thesis in applied linguistics on RT and
parable interpretation. Has anyone looked at RT and illustrations? I
believe that illustrative discourse can infer a principle (?) quite apart
from the intention of the teller or context. Does the form 'illustration'
also provide implicatures that the audience should not stop with the first
arrived at inference and search for further implicatures. At what point in
the context of a story or 'illustration' should the audience decide that it
should waste no further processing effort?
Part of my confusion seems to come from the possibility that a
'story' or 'illustration' can be seen as a coded unit, but the inferences do
not have to necessarily arise from the plot or characters, etc, in the
story. I see connections between this and S&W's example of the character
who writes his friend from Russia proclaiming the wonderful life he has
except for not being able to find green ink. If anyone can assist me with
any of this, I'd be grateful.
Robert Stephenson
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