Saying (nothing) and conversational implicatures

Victor Tamburini*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

I defend an alternative theory of conversational implicatures that does without Grice's notion of making-as-if-to-say. This theory characterises conversationally implicating that p as a way to mean that p by saying that q or by saying nothing. Cases that Grice's theory cannot capture are captured, and cases that Grice's theory misdescribes are correctly described. A distinction between conversational implicatures and pragmatic inferences from what speakers express is required, as well as a non-implicature treatment of figurative speech.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)816-836
JournalPacific Philosophical Quarterly
Volume104
Issue number4
Early online date2 Sept 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 3 Dec 2023

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Saying (nothing) and conversational implicatures'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this