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Part of
Dynamism in Metaphor and Beyond
Edited by Herbert L. Colston, Teenie Matlock and Gerard J. Steen
[Metaphor in Language, Cognition, and Communication 9] 2022
► pp. 325–340

Relevance theory perspectives on web-mediated communication

| University of Amsterdam
| University of Amsterdam

Cognitivist approaches are in need of an inclusive theory of communication. Relevance theory (RT) is well-equipped to develop into such a theory, but to fulfill its promise it should be able to accommodate digital-platform-based exchanges. Since communication via digital platforms often takes place between people who do not, or hardly, know each other personally, the issue of trustworthiness becomes much more important than in the face-to-face variety that is RT’s paradigmatic type of communication. Using TripAdvisor as an illustrative example, we make suggestions for how RT can handle, and provide useful perspectives on, communication via digital platforms, paying specific attention to the creation of trust.

Keywords: web-mediated communication, relevance theory, cyberpragmatics, TripAdvisor, trustworthiness
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.An ultra-short & informal version of key dimensions of RT
  • 3.The co-construction of identity and trust on web platforms
  • 4.The TripAdvisor platform as service, communication template, and interface
    • TripAdvisor as service for creating an online identity
    • Format of the communication template
    • Interface from the receiver’s perspective
  • 5.An RT characterization of communication on TripAdvisor
  • 6.From platform to agent: TripAdvisor as communicator
  • 7.Concluding remarks
  • References
Published online: 9 September 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/milcc.9.17for
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