Philosophy Pragmatics Questions Medium
Implicature is a concept in pragmatics that refers to the meaning conveyed indirectly or implicitly in a conversation. It is closely associated with conversational implicature theory, which was developed by philosopher H. P. Grice.
According to Grice, conversational implicature occurs when a speaker implies something beyond the literal meaning of their words. This additional meaning is inferred by the listener based on the cooperative principle and the maxims of conversation. The cooperative principle states that in a conversation, participants are expected to contribute relevant and truthful information, while the maxims of conversation provide guidelines for how this information should be conveyed.
Grice identified four maxims of conversation: the maxim of quantity (providing enough information but not too much), the maxim of quality (providing truthful information), the maxim of relation (being relevant), and the maxim of manner (being clear and avoiding ambiguity). When these maxims are violated, implicatures can arise.
There are two types of implicatures: conventional and conversational. Conventional implicatures are based on conventional meanings of words or phrases. For example, when someone says "John is a bachelor," the conventional implicature is that John is unmarried.
Conversational implicatures, on the other hand, are derived from the context and the speaker's intentions. They involve making inferences based on the violation or flouting of the maxims of conversation. For instance, if someone asks "Can you pass the salt?" and the listener responds with "I have a PhD in physics," the conversational implicature is that the listener is refusing to pass the salt.
Grice argued that implicatures are crucial for understanding the cooperative nature of conversation and how meaning is conveyed beyond the literal level. They allow speakers to convey more nuanced and indirect meanings, and listeners to infer these meanings based on the context and the speaker's intentions.
In conclusion, the concept of implicature is central to conversational implicature theory in pragmatics. It involves the additional meaning conveyed indirectly in a conversation, which is inferred by the listener based on the cooperative principle and the violation or flouting of the maxims of conversation. Implicatures play a crucial role in understanding the richness and complexity of communication beyond the literal level.