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Abstract

The cultural turn exposes the limitations of code-based models that treat communication as the encoding and decoding of fixed symbols. This article advances Sperber and Wilson’s Relevance Theory as a framework for understanding culturally situated communication. Rather than treating communication as the transmission of codes, Relevance Theory conceptualizes human interaction as an ostensive-inferential process, in which communicators make their intentions manifest and audiences infer meaning guided by expectations of relevance. Within this framework, designed artifacts can function as ostensive stimuli when their features signal communicative intent and invite interpretation. Drawing on an Indigenous Māori case study, we demonstrate how this approach enables culturally responsive information design by reconciling universal cognitive architecture with cultural variability to foster mutual manifestness across diverse contexts.

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2026-04-24
2026-05-19
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keywords: cognition ; cultural turn ; relevance theory ; communication
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