The Explanation of Relevance Theory for Metaphor

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.