Two key concepts in interpreting a discourse are cognitive effort and the contextual effects derived from the Relevance Theory of pragmatic analysis. Cognitive effort represents the number of cognitive operations performed by the interlocutor to interpret a linguistic or non-linguistic message. Meanwhile, contextual effects express the gain obtained in relation to the invested effort. Both concepts influence the efficiency of a discourse, so the lower the cognitive effort compared to the contextual effects obtained, the more relevant the discourse, and its interpretation is more accessible.
