According to Relevance Theory, indirect speech can produce richer cognitive effects to offset the additional processing effort. However, most empirical studies have been limited to propositional reasoning, while the exploration of the cognitive effects of other forms of indirect speech is insufficient. Through the conceptual integration of experimental results and discourse data, this note proposes a four-level typology of additional cognitive effects: interpersonal, humorous, aesthetic, and informational. By re-incorporating Brown and Levinson's politeness theory and Attardo's humor framework into the Relevance Theory model, it is shown that apparent irrelevance can often be compensated for by multiple social and emotional benefits. Finally, this note puts forward two testable hypotheses for future experimental research, emphasizing that even without increasing propositional content, optimal relevance can be achieved through emotional and social benefits.

Zhou Jianhua. A Theoretical Note on the Cognitive Payoff of Indirect Speech. Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences (2025), Vol. 8, Issue 12: 23-28. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJHSS.2025.081204.

[1] Sperber, D., & Wilson, D. (1995). Relevance: Communication and cognition. Oxford: Blackwell. 

[2] Gibbs, R. W. (1999). Intentions in the experience of meaning. Cambridge University Press. 

[3] Noveck, I. A. (2018). Experimental pragmatics: The making of a cognitive science. Cambridge University Press. 

[4] Cummins, C., & Katsos, N. (Eds.). (2019). The Oxford handbook of experimental semantics and pragmatics. Oxford University Press.

[5] Brown, P., & Levinson, S. C. (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language usage. Cambridge University Press. 

[6] Attardo, S. (2020). The linguistics of humor: An introduction. Oxford University Press. 

[7] Van Tiel, B., Pankratz, E., & Sun, C. (2019). Scales and scalarity: Processing scalar inferences. Journal of Memory and Language, 105, 93–107. 

[8] Holtgraves, T., & Kraus, B. (2018). Processing scalar implicatures in conversational contexts: An ERP study. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 46, 93–108. 

[9] Ronderos, C. R., & Noveck, I. A. (2023). Slowdowns in scalar implicature processing: Isolating the intention-reading costs in the Bott & Noveck task. Cognition, 238, 105480. 

[10] Van Tiel, B., & Pankratz, E. (2022). Adjectival polarity and the processing of scalar inferences. Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics, 6(1), 32. 

[11] Olkoniemi, H., Halonen, S., Pexman, P. M., & Häikiö, T. (2023). Children’s processing of written irony: An eye-tracking study. Cognition, 238, 105508. 

[12] Khorsheed, A., Price, J., & van Tiel, B. (2022). Sources of cognitive cost in scalar implicature processing: A review. Frontiers in Communication, 7, 990044. 

[13] Levinson, S. C. (2000). Presumptive meanings: The theory of generalized conversational implicature. MIT Press. 

[14] Farrelly, P., & Farrelly, B. (Directors). (2012). The Three Stooges [Film]. Twentieth Century Fox. Dialogue retrieved from Clip.cafe (verified film transcript).

[15] Sherman-Palladino, A. (Creator). (2000). Gilmore Girls [TV series]. Episode “Love and War and Snow,” Season 1, Episode 8. Warner Bros. Television. Transcript available at Subslikescript.com.

[16] Pizzolatto, N. (Writer), & Fukunaga, C. J. (Director). (2014). True Detective [TV series]. Episode “The Secret Fate of All Life,” Season 1, Episode 5. HBO. Transcript available at Subslikescript.com)

[17] Huang, Y. T., & Snedeker, J. (2018). Some inferences still take time: Prosody, predictability, and the speed of scalar implicatures. Cognitive Psychology, 102, 105–126. 

[18] Prenger, M., Gilchrist, M., Hedger, K., Seergobin, K., Owen, A., MacDonald, P. (2023). Establishing the roles of the dorsal and ventral striatum in humor comprehension and appreciation with fMRI. The Journal of Neuroscience, 43(49), 8536–8549. 

[19] Lorre, C. (Creator), & Prady, B. (Creator). (2008). The Big Bang Theory [TV series]. Episode “The Barbarian Sublimation,” Season 2, Episode 3. Warner Bros. Television / CBS. Transcript available at BigBangTrans or Subslikescript.com.