Standard Implicature

Overview

Standard implicature refers to the meaning that is conveyed by a speaker’s utterance, but not strictly part of what they said. It relies heavily on context and shared assumptions between the speaker and listener. Developed by philosopher H.P. Grice, this concept is central to the study of pragmatics.

Key Concepts

The foundation of standard implicature lies in Grice’s Cooperative Principle. This principle suggests that participants in a conversation cooperate to make their contributions meaningful. This cooperation is guided by four maxims:

• Quantity: Be as informative as required, but no more.
• Quality: Be truthful; do not say what you believe to be false.
• Relation: Be relevant.
• Manner: Be clear, brief, and orderly.

When a speaker appears to violate a maxim, listeners often infer an implicature to explain the apparent violation, assuming the speaker is still cooperating.

Deep Dive: Conversational Implicature

Conversational implicature is the most common type. It arises from the interaction of the literal meaning of an utterance with the context and the assumption that the speaker is adhering to the Cooperative Principle. For example, if A asks B, “Are you coming to the party tonight?” and B replies, “I have to work,” B is implying they are not coming to the party, even though they didn’t state it directly.

Applications

Understanding standard implicature is crucial for:

• Linguistics: Analyzing how meaning is created beyond literal words.
• Philosophy of Language: Examining the nature of communication.
• Artificial Intelligence: Developing more natural conversational agents.
• Literary Analysis: Interpreting subtext and authorial intent.

Challenges & Misconceptions

A key characteristic is cancellability. An implicature can be cancelled either explicitly or contextually without creating a contradiction. For instance, “I have to work, but I might still come later.” It’s also distinct from conventional implicature, which is tied to specific words (e.g., ‘but’ implies contrast).

FAQs

What is the difference between implication and implicature?

Implication often refers to logical entailment (if X is true, Y must be true), while implicature is a suggested meaning based on context and conversational norms.

Is implicature always intentional?

While speakers often intend to convey implicatures, they can also arise unintentionally due to the listener’s interpretation of the utterance in its context.