Introduction - If you have any usage issues, please Google them yourself
While intentions are at the center of communication theories such as Relevance
Theory, and also of theories of action in general, the interaction between
communicative and non-communicative intentions has not been much investigated
within the relevance-theoretic framework. This paper discusses Bratman’s (1987)
Theory of Planning, which recognizes the critical role of intentions in governing our
actions, driving our practical reasoning, and enabling us to coordinate with other
individuals. I will argue that this theory can shed new light on how a communicator’s
non-communicative intentions can shape her utterances and affect her audience’s
intentions, how the audience’s intentions may influence the comprehension process,
and how audiences may cope with attempts at persuasion by considering the
communicator’s non-communicative intentions.