Emotions in communication: intention or relevance?

Abstract

The purpose of the present article is to show that communication is guided by an intimate relation between emotions, intentions and inferences. We present Sperber and Wilson’s (1995) Relevance Theory, whose conviction in rationality does not permit an adequate explanation of the interference of emotions in communication. Them, we describe Campos’ (2010) Dialogue Theory, which demonstrate a greater potential to explain the relationship between emotions and intentions.