Philosophy Pragmatics Questions Long
In Blakemore's pragmatics, the concept of implicature refers to the meaning that is conveyed indirectly or implicitly in a conversation. Implicatures are not explicitly stated by the speaker, but are inferred by the listener based on the context, the speaker's intentions, and the cooperative principle of communication.
Blakemore builds on the work of philosopher H.P. Grice, who proposed the cooperative principle as a fundamental principle of communication. According to Grice, in a conversation, participants are expected to cooperate and contribute information that is relevant, informative, truthful, and clear. However, Grice also recognized that speakers often violate these principles and intentionally convey meaning indirectly.
Implicatures can be categorized into two types: conventional implicatures and conversational implicatures. Conventional implicatures are associated with specific words or phrases that carry additional meaning beyond their literal sense. For example, when someone says "John is a bachelor," the conventional implicature is that John is unmarried. This implicature is not explicitly stated, but it is understood based on the conventional meaning of the word "bachelor."
Conversational implicatures, on the other hand, are derived from the context and the speaker's intentions. They go beyond the literal meaning of the words used in a conversation. Grice proposed four maxims that guide conversational implicatures: the maxim of quantity (providing enough information), the maxim of quality (being truthful), the maxim of relation (being relevant), and the maxim of manner (being clear and avoiding ambiguity).
When a speaker violates one of these maxims, it often triggers an implicature. For example, if someone asks, "Do you have any plans for the weekend?" and the listener responds, "I have a lot of work to do," the implicature is that the listener does not have any plans for the weekend. The speaker violated the maxim of relation by not providing a relevant answer, which leads the listener to infer the implicature.
Blakemore's contribution to implicature theory lies in her focus on the cognitive processes involved in deriving implicatures. She argues that implicatures are not simply derived from the violation of maxims, but they also involve the listener's ability to reason and make inferences based on the available information. According to Blakemore, implicatures are derived through a process of pragmatic enrichment, where the listener enriches the meaning of the utterance by considering the context, the speaker's intentions, and the relevant background knowledge.
In conclusion, implicature in Blakemore's pragmatics refers to the meaning that is indirectly conveyed in a conversation. It goes beyond the literal meaning of the words used and is inferred by the listener based on the context, the speaker's intentions, and the violation of conversational maxims. Blakemore emphasizes the cognitive processes involved in deriving implicatures and highlights the importance of pragmatic enrichment in understanding the implicit meaning in communication.