1. CFI, Rabat
Module: Linguistics
Pragmatics: Implicature
Trainee: M. Bedraoui Trainer: Mr. A. Oulbouch
1

2. Objectives
We will be able to
1. get acquainted with implicature.
2. distinguish between an implicature and an entailment.
3. identify types of implicatures.
4. discuss the implications of implicature for ELT.
2

3. Outline
I. What is an Implicature?
1. Implicature and Entailment
2. Examples
3. Features of Implicatures
II. What are the Types of Implicature?
1. Conversational Implicature
1. The Cooperative Principle
2. The Conversational Maxims
3. Types of Conversational Implicature
2. Conventional Implicature
III. How can knowledge about implicature be useful in
foreign language teaching?
3

4.  Question 1
What is an Implicature?
4

5. Food for thought
What does What does
she say? she mean?
I want to know You are not really
whether you are planning to go in
going to wear that public wearing
tie. that tie, are you?
Sentence
Speaker meaning
meaning
Semantic Pragmatic
meaning meaning
entailment implicature
5

6. Implicature and Entailment
What is an entailment? What is an implicature?
“any meaning which is conveyed
“a meaning that is present on every indirectly or through hints, and
occasion when an expression understood implicitly without ever
occurs.” being explicitly stated.”
(Grundy: 2000, 73)
(Grundy: 2000, 73)
A: Would you like some coffee?
B: It will keep me awake.
Entailment=>……………………… Implicature +>……………………
…
6

7. Implicature and Entailment
Entail: is meant to cover the
family of verbs that refer to the
literal meaning of a
sentence, such as „say‟ and
„assert‟.
Implicate: is meant to cover the
family of verbs such as
„imply‟, „suggest‟, „mean‟, which
refer to the meaning of an
utterance as understood in a
given context.
7

8. Implicature: a neology by
Paul Grice (1913- 1988)

He was a British language philosopher
who made remarkable contributions
to the field of pragmatics.
 His most influential work relates to his analysis of
speaker meaning and his account of conversational
implicature.
 His legacy is encapsulated in such widely used phrases
as “Gricean Cooperative Principle”, “Gricean
Maxims”, “Gricean Intention”, and “Gricean
Reasoning”.
8

9. More Examples
A: Will Sally be at the meeting this afternoon?
B: Her car broke down.
Entailment=>…………………….. Implicature+>……………….
A: Do you like linguistics?
B:. Well, let‟s just say I don‟t jump for joy before class
Entailment =>………………… Implicature +>………………..
An advertisement of Coca-Cola says:
It‟s the taste.
Entailment =>…………… Implicature +>…………………….
9

10. Implicatures are context-dependent
An expression with a single meaning (expressing the same
proposition) can give rise to different conversational implicatures in
different contexts.
Example: It‟s the taste.
A slogan in an • +> It is the unique taste that people look
advertisement for Coca
Cola for.
An utterance made by a
daughter to answer why she • +> I found the taste awful.
left her sandwich intact.
An utterance made by a
shop assistant about a • +> The product is in vogue .
product
10

11. Implicatures are cancellable
An implicature can be cancelled if additional
premises are added without causing
contradictions.
John is visiting Pat. He and Pat are watching TV. in a room with
open windows. John says:
“It‟s a bit chilly here”
• +> I want to have the windows closed
• => The temperature is low.
John may go on and add:
“It‟s a bit chilly in here, but I do not want you to close the
windows.”
11

12. Task 1
In some cases, the second sentence is semantically
related to the first (an entailment or a
presupposition). In other cases it is an implicature .
Identify the meanings of the second sentences.
12

13.  Question 2
What are the Types of
Implicature?

14. Types of Implicature
Conversational
Implicature
Implicature
Conventional
implicature
14

15. Types of Implicature
Particularized
Conversational Indefinite
Implicatures Generalized
Conventional Scalar
15

16. Conversational Implicature
Conversational implicatures are the assumptions suggested by
the speaker and inferred by the hearer in an exchange
situation. These assumptions are not encoded in the words
said but are generated by the interlocuters‟ cooperation to
achieve rational communication.
Cooperatio
Speaker n Hearer
The cooperative
principle
16

17. The Cooperative
Principle
Relevance
Meet certain Itis an umbrella term
principles for the principles that
guide our
conversation.
Make your conversational
Grice called these
contribution such as is required, at
rules Maxims of
the stage which it occurs, by the
Conversation.
accepted purpose or direction of the
talk exchange in which you are The maxims are:
engaged.
 The Quality Maxim
(truthfulness)
 The Quantity Maxim
Truthfulness (informativeness)
Informativeness  The Relevance
Maxim
manner
 Manner Maxim
17

18. A: I might win the lottery.
B: Yes, and pigs might fly!
+>………………………
Do not say what
you believe to
be false Flouting the
maxim implicature
To flout a maxim: to blatantly fail to fulfill
it and the hearer recognizes that the
maxim is not fulfilled.
18

19. Do not say that
for which you
lack adequate
evidence A: Where is he right now?
B: People say he is in
prison.
+>………………………..
19

20.  A: How are you?
Do not make your B: my recent medical
contribution more check up came out
negative, my wife was
informative than is fired, my dog is ill and I
required. am soon expecting my
fifth child.
+>………………………..
Make your
contribution to a
conversation as
informative as  A: Where are you going?
possible B: Out.
+>………………………….
20

21. A: Where's the roast beef?
B1: The dog looks happy
+>…………………………
Be
relevant A: Is the chicken good?
B: I once tried one of their
entrees. Now I always go
for the salad.
+>…………………………….
21

22. A: Let's get the kids something.
Avoid B: OK, but not I-C-E C-R-E-A-
Avoid M.
obscurity of
ambiguity +>…………………………….
expression
Be brief A: Did John like the joke?
B: His lips turned slightly
upwards.
+>…………………………….
Be orderly
A: what happened?
B: The teacher came in and the
students left.
+>………………………………
22

23. 1. Which maxim is being flouted in the
conversations?
2. Are the implicatures successfully inferred in both
conversations?
23

24. Task 2
Recover the implicatures suggested by the B‟s
utterances and identify which maxims are flouted.
24

25. What is an
implicature?
25

26. What is the
difference between
an implicature and
an entailment?
26

27. How is an
implicature
worked out?
27

28. What are the
maxims of the
cooperative
principle?
28

29. What are the
types of
implicature?
29

30. Types of Conversational Implicatures
Particularized
CI
Conversational
implicatures
Generalized CI
30

31. Particularized Conversational Implicature
Leila: Wow! Has your boss
gone crazy?
Mary: Let go get some coffee
Particularized • Leila has walked into Mary‟s office
and noticed all the work is on her
conversational implicatures desk. She has addressed Mary
are the inferences which are without realizing that the Boss is in
some corner in the office.
worked out while drawing
totally on the specific A: I‟ m going to the prison
context of the utterance. tomorrow.
B: Will 200Dhs do?
• A is visiting a detainee and proposing
to B to help in funding the shopping
for that detainee.
31

32. Generalized Implicature
A: Did you invite Bella
and Cathy?
B: I invited Bella.
While working out +>………………………
generalized CI “no special
background knowledge of the
context of utterance is
required in order to make the A: Did you buy bread and
necessary inferences”. cheese.
Yule (1996:40)
B: I bought bread.
+>…………………………
32

33. Generalized Conversational Implicatures
Phrases with indefinites
‘a’/’an‟
Iwas sitting in a garden one day. A child looked over
the fence.
+>…………………………
An X +> not speaker‟s X
 There
is a car in front of the house.
+>………………………..
33

34. Scalar Implicatures
Scalar implicatures are given rise by the use of certain
scales of value. The use of one expression indicates
one point on the scale and cancels the other
expressions indicating higher points on the scale.
<All, most, some, few>
<always, often, sometimes>
<certain, probable, possible>
<do badly, progress, do well>
Some of the boys went to the party.
+>not all of the boys went to the party.
34

35. Scalar Implicature
 The courses are sometimes interesting.
+> the courses are not always/ not often interesting.
 It‟s possible that they were delayed.
+> It‟s not certain/ not probable that they were
delayed.
35

36. Scalar Implicature
I can‟t lend you 10$.
+> I can‟t lend you more 10$.
36

37. Types of Implicatures
Particularized
Conversational Indefinite
Implicatures Generalized
Conventional Scalar
37

38. Conventional Implicatures
 Conventional implicatures are associated with specific words and
result in additional conveyed meanings when those words are
used.
 She put on her clothes, and left the house.
p q
+> After she had put on her clothes, she left the house.
+> q after p
 She was happy and ready to work.
p q
+> she was both happy and ready to work.
+> p plus q
38

39. Conventional Implicatures
John is poor but happy.  +> In contrast to what
p q John should feel as a
poor person, he is
happy.
 P but q +> p is in
contrast to q
39

40. Conventional Implicatures
 Denis isn‟t here yet.  +> Denis is expected to
not p be here later.
Not p yet +> p is
expected to be true
later.
40

41. Conventional Implicatures
 Even Mary came to the  +> contrary to what
party. was expected, Mary
p came to the party.
 Even p +> contrary
to what is
expected, p.
41

42. Task 3
Recover the implicatures that these utterances may
give rise to and identify their types. Sometimes, one
utterance may suggest implicatures of different types
42

43.  Question 3
In what lesson components can our knowledge about
implicature be relevant and useful?
43

44. Implications for Foreign Language Teaching
 Bouton (1994) found out that non-native students had
performed significantly poorer in interpreting conversational
implicatures than native ones.
 Boersma (1994) showed that non-native students could
interpret conversational implicatures after an explicit formal
teaching on how inferences can be drawn from utterances.
 Lee (2000) pointed out that high linguistic proficiency would
allow students to derive the same interpretations as native
speakers, though they might display a slower pace at working
out implicatures.
 A number of studies (Alcon, 2005; House, 1996; Rose& Ng
Kwai-fun, 2001; Tateyama, 2001) provide evidence for the
benefit of both implicit and explicit teaching of pragmatic
aspects of language in foreign language contexts.
44

45. Implications for Foreign Language Teaching
Designing the
instructional materials
Teaching
Testing
45

46. Designing the Instructional Material
Examples of
Culturally rich Rich pragmatic different types of
material content implicatures
Media clips from
TV shows and Comic strips
movies
46

47. Comic Strips
47

48. Teaching
Implicit Explicit
instruction instruction
Using questions Consciousnes
to elicit s- raising
inferences activities
Matching Analyzing
exercises jokes, puns
(utterances and and proverbs
appropriate
inferences)
Multiple choice
questions on the
implicatures
contained in Discussing
reading and interpretations
listening texts
48

49. Teaching Functions
Off-record Requests:.
• indirect requests that eliminate the potential for the
speaker to impose on the addressee by allowing the
addressee to draw an implicature from the statement
 It's hot in here. (Open the window.)
 My car is in the shop. (Give me a ride.)
 I really dislike chicken. (Serve a different meat
instead.)
 You look nice in blue. (Wear blue more often.)
 Washing your hands before eating is recommended.
(Wash your hands before eating.)
 All reports are due tomorrow. (Finish your report by
tomorrow.)
49

50. Testing
Teachers need to consult a checklist when designing tests targeting the
students‟ pragmatic ability to interpret implicatures.
 Do the question items require the use of inference skills
that were already taught?
 Are the targeted implicatures well-contextualized?
 Is there any grading of questions in terms of the difficulty
level?
 Do the targeted implicatures have one answer or multiple
answers?
50

51. References
• Ishihara, N., & Cohen, A. D. (2010). Teaching and learning pragmatics: Where language and
culture meet. Harlow, England: Pearson Longman.
• Griffiths, P. (2006). An introduction to English semantics and pragmatics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh
University Press. n.
• Grundy, P. (1995). Doing pragmatics. London: E. Arnold.
• S. E., & nez, F. A. (2008). Investigating pragmatics in foreign language learning, teaching and
testing. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.
• Yule, G. (1996). Pragmatics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• http://userwww.sfsu.edu/kbach/Bach.Grice.pdf
• http://philpapers.org/rec/HORI
• http://wiim.wiwi.tu-dresden.de/die_tu_dresden/fakultaeten/philosophische
fakultaet/iph/thph/braeuer/lehre/implikaturen/Bach%20TopTen%20Misconceptions.pdf
51

52. Flouting the
puns jokes
ambiguity maxims
52

53. The Maxims of Conversation
In a conversation, the speaker may take one of these
options:
 S/He may observe the maxims. (This is the default
assumption)
 S/He may flout a maxim, to the full knowledge of the
addressee. (This gives rise to conversational implicatures)
 S/He may violate a maxim, e.g., lie.
53