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 was developed by philosopher H.P. Grice, who proposed the Cooperative Principle as a framework for understanding how people communicate effectively.
The Cooperative Principle suggests that in a conversation, participants are expected to cooperate with each other by making their contributions relevant, informative, truthful, and clear. Grice argued that this principle is fundamental to successful communication and that it is based on a shared understanding of certain conversational maxims: 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).
Implicatures arise when these maxims are not followed explicitly but are still assumed to be followed by the participants. Grice identified two types of implicatures: conventional implicatures and conversational implicatures.
Conventional implicatures are derived from specific linguistic expressions that have conventional meanings beyond their literal sense. 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 assumption that the speaker is following the Cooperative Principle. For instance, if someone says, "I have a lot of work to do," the conversational implicature might be that they are too busy to engage in a particular activity.
Grice argued that implicatures are crucial for effective communication because they allow speakers to convey additional meaning beyond what is explicitly stated. However, implicatures heavily rely on the shared understanding of the Cooperative Principle and the ability to infer meaning from context. Misunderstandings can occur when implicatures are not correctly inferred or when the Cooperative Principle is violated.
In conclusion, implicature is a concept in pragmatics that refers to the additional meaning conveyed indirectly in a conversation. It is closely related to Grice's Cooperative Principle, which outlines the expectations for effective communication. Implicatures can be conventional or conversational and rely on shared understanding and inference from context.