implikatur

Implicature, in German Implikatur, is a pragmatic notion describing meaning that is suggested but not contained in the literal content of an utterance. It is the information a listener infers from context, speaker intention, and shared assumptions, rather than what is explicitly said.

There are two main types: conventional implicature, tied to particular words or constructions (for example, but, therefore) that carry extra meaning beyond their dictionary sense; and conversational implicature, arising from the cooperative nature of conversation and from how utterances relate to Grice’s maxims (Quantity, Quality, Relation, Manner).

Conversational implicatures can be generalized or particularized. Generalized implicatures do not rely on a specific context; particularized implicatures depend on situational cues. An example: “Some of the students passed the exam” typically implicates that not all did. This implicature can be canceled by adding explicit information, such as “In fact, all of them passed.”

Implicature is a core concept in pragmatics, explaining how speakers convey implied meaning such as inference or politeness without explicit assertion. It is cancellable and context-sensitive. The term originates with Paul Grice, who proposed the Cooperative Principle and the maxims as foundations for conversational inference.