Theory of relevance in research on the communicative competence among patients with the hearing loss resulting from otosclerosis. The research project

Abstract

The aim of the research project is to prove that “the theory of relevance” by Dan Sperber and Deirdre Wilson might have its functional use for research on the communication competence. It seems essential to use the theory of relevance to study the hearing loss, resulting from otosclerosis, influences their communicative competence level, being the part of linguistic competence. Researching language processing, thanks to the usage of Sperber and Deirdre Wilson theory of relevance, enables to diagnose whether otosclerotic people can notice relevance in what is said to them. It will also show if they are able to draw context conclusions from what they listen to and how big effort they make to spot the relevance of the statement.