Gesture, ostension, and relevance: pragmatics of semantic gesture
Gesture, ostension, and relevance: pragmatics of semantic gesture

Summary/Abstract: Semantic gesture is considered one of Jan Mukařovský’s key conceptual contributions to the theory of (artistic) communication. It is also a contribution that is still commented on and further expanded upon today. As a semantic-synthetic principle of dynamic unification of a work of art, the mechanism of semantic gesture defies reduction to pure intention, content or simply coded meaning. This paper develops the view that semantic gesture represents a pragmatic mechanism with potential for elaboration within the framework of a pragmatic theory of relevance. In the first part, it attempts to substantiate the view that semantic gesture exhibits a distinctly pragmatic character, as it is both (i) dependent on the under-determination of linguistic input and (ii) applicable outside the domain of artistic texts. The second part attempts to define the context of relevance theory as a suitable field for further exploration of semantic gesture beyond traditional semiological boundaries, especially by pointing out two types of dynamism and by relating the notion of semantic gesture to the pragmatic mechanisms of poetic effects.

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