Distinctive Features of Conversational Implicatures

Question 1

Cancelable

Answer 1

Some implicatures can be cancelled. Implicatures are only cancellable if they are conversational. If one can terminate an implicature without contradicting oneself, the implicature is conversational.

Question 2

Non-detachable

Answer 2

Feature of NON-manner-based implicatures: there is more than one way to generate the same implicature. They cannot be “detached” by rephrasing the utterance, as they are consequences of the meaning and not the wording.

Question 3

Becoming convention

Answer 3

If conversational implicatures are used often enough, they may become convention as the language evolves.

Question 4

Truth value

Answer 4

Implicatures do not change the truth value of what is said. The truth of the underlying statement doesn’t determine the truth of the implicature.

Question 5

Indeterminacy

Answer 5

There are a variety of different implicatures that can be generated, in such a manner that allows a speaker to cooperate with a listener.