Implicature

Question 1

What does pragmatics mean?

Answer 1

The systematic study of meaning by virtue of, or dependent on, the use of language.

Question 2

What is an inference?

Answer 2

When you draw up conclusions from things that are implied.

Question 3

Who is the most important theorist when it comes to implications?

Answer 3

Grice

Question 4

What is implications?

Answer 4

• Meanings which go beyond what is said – speaker intended implicatures.
• Meaning is implied or suggested
  What is implicated, either by a speaker or an utterance, can be contrasted with what is said.

Question 5

Grice on speaker meaning:

Answer 5

Contrasted natural meaning with non-natural meaning.

Question 6

Explain Grice’s natural meaning with non-natural meaning:

Answer 6

Natural meaning – E.g. those clouds mean rain – so where a certain sign is causally related to an event or concept. Does not rely on intention-recognition.Smoke seen in the distance ⇒something is on fire
‘That smoke means there’s a fire’ (the smoke is not trying to tell us about a fire)

Non-natural meaning – arises through a speaker having a specific kind of meaning intention. Relies on intention recognition.

Question 7

What is intention - recognition ?

Answer 7

When the speaker purposefully implies something for the receiver to recognise that implicature.

It is non-natural.

Question 8

What is the cooperative principle and who formulated this theory?

Answer 8

The cooperative principle is when speakers in conversation intend with every utterance to further the conversation in some way.

INTENTION-RECOGNISION IS USED TO CONTINUE A CONVERSATION.

Question 9

What are the 4 conversational maxims and who came up with them?

Answer 9

• Maxim of quality
• Maxim of quantity
• Maxim of relevance
• Maxim of manner

Grice

Question 10

Maxim of Quality

Answer 10

Try to make your contribution one that is true, and specifically:

Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence

Question 11

Maxim of Quantity

Answer 11

Make sure your contribution as informative as is required for the current purposes of the exchange
Do not make your contribution more informative than is required.

Question 12

Maxim of relevance

Answer 12

Make sure your contribution is relevant.

Question 13

Maxim of manner

Answer 13

Avoid ambiguity
Be brief
Be orderly

Question 14

What does Grice argue about his 4 maxims? (Quote)

Answer 14

Grice argued that his maxims were not simply used in conversation, but are merely a special case of purposive, rational behaviour.

Question 15

Explain how implicatures might not always arise:

Answer 15

Implicatures might not always arise if the speaker is lying, for example. In order for implicatures to arise, the receiver must recognise the implicature being made. Which isn’t always possible for someone lying.

Question 16

How can a speaker avoid implicatures?

Answer 16

By using hedges in the Maxims:

It MAY do this, BUT, I don’t KNOW.

Question 17

What does flouting mean?

Answer 17

Flouting - A speaker who makes it clear that they are not following the conversational maxims is said to be flouting the maxims and this too gives rise to an implicature.

Question 18

Flouting quantity:

Answer 18

Saying something humorous or sarcastic - more informative than is required.

Question 19

Flouting manner:

Answer 19

Literarily descriptive: more description than needs to be.

Flouting manner: ‘John’s lips curved slightly upwards.’
Normal manner: ‘John didn’t exactly smile.’

Question 20

Explain what defeasible and reinforcable means:

Answer 20

• Implicatures are defeasible: they can be denied by the speaker without a contradiction.
• Implicatures are also reinforceable: they can be spelled out by the speaker without a sense of redundancy.

Question 21

Explain potential implicatures and actual implicatures:

Answer 21

• Is an implicature that would arise from any of the components of a given utterance.
• An actual implicature is any potential implicature that is not canceled by its context.

Question 22

What is Generalised conversational implicature ?

Answer 22

An implicature which is generated by default, regardless of context and requires special cancellation

Question 23

What is Particularised Conversational Implicature ?

Answer 23

An implicature which is generated entirely on the basis of the conversational context

Question 24

What does Levinson argue about Generalised Conversational implicature? (Quote)

Answer 24

Levinson argues that GCI theory is ‘a generative theory of idiomaticity’