Philosophy Pragmatics Questions Long
Bach and Harnish's pragmatics is a branch of philosophy that focuses on the study of language use in context and the role of implicature within it. Implicature refers to the meaning that is conveyed indirectly or implied by an utterance, beyond its literal or explicit meaning. In their work, Bach and Harnish emphasize the importance of implicature in understanding the pragmatic aspects of communication.
One of the key contributions of Bach and Harnish to the study of implicature is their distinction between conventional implicature and conversational implicature. Conventional implicature refers to the meaning that is associated with certain linguistic expressions due to conventional rules or conventions. For example, when someone says "John is a bachelor," the conventional implicature is that John is an unmarried man. This meaning is not explicitly stated but is understood based on the conventional meaning of the word "bachelor."
Conversational implicature, on the other hand, is the meaning that is inferred based on the context of the conversation and the cooperative principle of communication. The cooperative principle suggests that in a conversation, participants strive to be cooperative and make their contributions relevant, informative, truthful, and clear. Conversational implicatures arise when the speaker violates or flouts one of these principles, leading the listener to infer a meaning that goes beyond the literal interpretation.
Bach and Harnish argue that implicatures play a crucial role in communication because they allow speakers to convey more information efficiently and listeners to infer additional meanings. They propose the idea of "maxims of conversation" which are principles that guide the cooperative behavior of speakers and listeners. These maxims include the maxim of quantity (providing enough information but not too much), the maxim of quality (being truthful), the maxim of relevance (staying on topic), and the maxim of manner (being clear and avoiding ambiguity).
According to Bach and Harnish, when a speaker flouts one of these maxims, it triggers a conversational implicature. For example, if someone asks "Do you have any plans for the weekend?" and the listener responds with "I have a lot of work to do," the listener is flouting the maxim of quantity by not providing a direct answer. The implicature here is that the listener does not want to disclose their plans or is not interested in making plans.
Bach and Harnish's pragmatics also emphasizes the importance of context in determining implicatures. The same utterance can have different implicatures depending on the context in which it is used. For example, the statement "It's hot in here" can implicate a request to open a window if it is said in a room with other people. However, if it is said while alone, it may simply be a statement about the temperature.
In conclusion, Bach and Harnish's pragmatics highlights the role of implicature in understanding the pragmatic aspects of communication. Implicatures allow speakers to convey additional meanings indirectly, beyond the literal interpretation of their words. By studying implicatures, we gain insights into how context, cooperative principles, and conversational maxims shape the meaning conveyed in communication.