Towards a new theory of flouting

In this paper, an outline of a theory of flouting based on Alfred Schutz’ theory of relevance structures is presented. Flouting, it is claimed, is merely one of many different phenomena which, by virtue of being unusual/unexpected/unfamiliar against a familiar background, generates imposed thematic relevance, a form of relevance that causes heightened attention levels and increased interpretational activity. Using examples taken from weblogs (or so-called ‘blogs’), it is demonstrated in detail what it means for flouting (and other, related forms of non-observance of maxims) to possess imposed thematic relevance: it is shown how different forms of hearer response evidence heightened attention levels and increased interpretational activity, and how the latter – rather than leading up to one, easily circumscribeable implicature – potentially generates a number of implicature hypotheses which may interact or compete for viability. It is also shown how different forms of non-observance give rise to different types of implicature or implications.