Philosophy Pragmatics Questions Medium
Implicature is a concept in pragmatics that refers to the meaning conveyed indirectly or implicitly in a conversation, beyond the literal or explicit meaning of the words used. It involves understanding the speaker's intended meaning based on the context, shared knowledge, and the speaker's communicative intentions.
Conversational implicature, on the other hand, specifically focuses on the inferences made by the listener during a conversation. It involves understanding what is meant by what is said, rather than what is explicitly stated. Conversational implicatures are derived from the cooperative principle, which suggests that speakers and listeners engage in conversation with the expectation of being cooperative and informative.
Grice's theory of implicature provides a framework for understanding conversational implicature. According to Grice, implicatures arise from the violation or exploitation of four conversational maxims: the maxim of quantity (be as informative as required), the maxim of quality (be truthful), the maxim of relation (be relevant), and the maxim of manner (be clear and avoid ambiguity).
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. This implicature is derived from the maxim of quantity, as the listener's response is less informative than expected if they had plans.
Understanding conversational implicature requires the listener to infer the intended meaning by considering the context, the speaker's intentions, and the violation or exploitation of the conversational maxims. It involves recognizing the implicit meaning behind the words used and interpreting the speaker's intended message beyond the literal level.
In conclusion, implicature plays a crucial role in understanding conversational implicature. It involves deriving meaning beyond the explicit words used in a conversation by considering the context, shared knowledge, and the speaker's communicative intentions. Conversational implicature relies on the violation or exploitation of conversational maxims and requires the listener to make inferences to grasp the intended meaning.