Implicature
Implicature is meaning that is conveyed by an utterance but not explicitly stated. The concept was formalised by H.P. Grice (1975) in his William James Lectures, published as "Logic and Conversation." Understanding implicature is central to Pragmatics and a key component of Pragmatic Competence.
Types
Conversational Implicature
Meaning derived from context and the assumption that speakers follow the Cooperative Principle. Conversational implicatures are:
- Context-dependent — the same sentence can implicate different things in different situations
- Cancellable — the speaker can explicitly deny the implication
- Non-detachable — the implicature is tied to the meaning, not the specific words
- Calculable — the hearer can work out why the speaker said what they said
Example:
A: "Are you coming to the party?" B: "I've got an early start tomorrow."
B does not say "no" but implicates a refusal. The hearer infers this by recognising that B's response is only relevant (Maxim of Relation) if it explains why they cannot come.
Conventional Implicature
Meaning attached to specific words or constructions, independent of context. Unlike conversational implicature, it is not derived from the Cooperative Principle.
Example:
"He is poor but honest."
The word but conventionally implicates a contrast — that poverty and honesty are somehow unexpected together. This implicature holds regardless of context.
How Implicature Works
Conversational implicature arises when a speaker appears to flout one of Grice's maxims (see Cooperative Principle):
| Maxim flouted | Example | Implicature |
|---|---|---|
| Quantity | "She has three children" (she has five) | Not enough information — being evasive |
| Quality | "Oh sure, and I'm the Queen of England" | Sarcasm — the literal statement is obviously false |
| Relation | "Nice weather, isn't it?" (during a tense meeting) | Topic avoidance — deliberately irrelevant |
| Manner | "He caused the car to stop" (vs "he stopped the car") | Something unusual about how he stopped it |
L2 Relevance
Implicature is a major source of cross-cultural miscommunication:
- L2 learners often interpret utterances literally, missing implied meaning
- Different cultures have different norms for how much to implicate vs state directly
- Indirect refusals, hints, and irony are frequent sources of pragmatic failure
- Teaching implicature requires explicit awareness-raising — authentic examples, discourse analysis, and discussion of what was meant vs what was said
Understanding implicature is essential for developing Pragmatic Competence and connects directly to the interpretation of Speech Acts in real communication.