Relevance Implicature

Overview

Relevance implicature, a key concept in Gricean pragmatics, suggests that listeners assume speakers are being relevant. This assumption allows listeners to infer implied meanings that are not explicitly stated. It’s about understanding what is meant versus what is said, guided by the principle of relevance.

Key Concepts

The theory hinges on the assumption of relevance, meaning utterances are relevant to the conversational context. Listeners infer additional information by considering the most efficient way to achieve relevance. This involves understanding the speaker’s intended meaning and background knowledge.

Deep Dive

Coined by H.P. Grice, the Cooperative Principle guides conversations. Relevance implicature is a specific type of conversational implicature. It proposes that hearers process utterances to maximize relevance, inferring information based on the context and the speaker’s presumed effort to be informative and relevant.

Applications

This concept is crucial in understanding:

• Indirect speech acts (e.g., asking a question by making a statement).
• Humor and irony, which often rely on unexpected but relevant inferences.
• Effective communication strategies in negotiation and persuasion.
• The nuances of everyday conversations.

Challenges & Misconceptions

A common misconception is that relevance is subjective. However, it’s understood as the optimal balance of cognitive effects and processing effort. Misinterpretations can arise if listeners fail to grasp the intended context or the speaker’s assumptions about shared knowledge.

FAQs

What is the main idea behind relevance implicature?

The main idea is that listeners assume utterances are relevant and use this assumption to infer unspoken meanings.

How does it differ from literal meaning?

Literal meaning is what is explicitly said, while relevance implicature refers to the implied meaning derived from the context and the assumption of relevance.

Is it always intentional?

While often intentional, implicatures can sometimes be unintentional, arising from the listener’s interpretation of the speaker’s utterance and context.