An inference is a deduction made by a listener or reader based not only on the text, but more often on his knowledge about the world. In other words, Making an inference involves using what you know to make a guess about what you don't know. in reading, for example, readers who make inferences use the clues in the text along with their own experiences to help them figure out what is not directly said: reading between the lines.
Example:
Brahim has borrowed my Harvania to read.
Inference: starting from the surrounding words and my previous knowledge, I conclude that Harvania must refer to a book.
entailment (logical)
It is the relationship between statements that remain true when one logically "follows from" one or more others. If sentence A entails sentence B, it follows that B must absolutely be true in all circumstances that make A true.
For example:
- The teachers I supervise come from different areas in Morocco.
- → I supervise teachers.
Here, A entails B. If sentence B is not true, sentence A cannot be true.
Another example:
- Teachers like hands-on activities and interactive sessions.
- Teachers don't like video projections.
Here, A does not entail B because it is possible that B is false even when A is true
implicature (conversational)
Implicature is what is meant in a speaker's utterance without being part of what is said. Generally, What a speaker intends to communicate is far richer than what s/he directly expresses.
Conversational implicatue, unlike conventional implicature, is not tied to the particular words and phrases in an utterance but arises from contextual factors and conversation.
Conversational imlicature is based on an addressee's assumption that the speaker is following the conversational maximsor at least the cooperative principle ( Grice):
"Make your conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged."
This cooperative principle is an umbrella term for four categories, called the Maxims of Conversation: the
maxim of quality (truthfulness), the maxim of quantity (informativeness), the maxim of relation (relevance),
and the maxim of manner (perspicuity).
Example of an implicature:
A : are you going to the inspectors seminar?
B: My son is not feeling well.
B implicates that he/she is not going. S/he didn't say "I am not going", but it is his/her implicature.
By saying that conversational imlicatures are not restricted to conventional meaning (inside the text and using linguistic elements), I meant that it is rather governed by the principles of concersation. An example:
If I say "I have attended some lessons on discourse analysis", then add "Actually, I have attended all of them"; here the second part cancels the first one, and so the conversational imlicature Is added the last part.
cancellation of implicatures
This is done when I imply something and then cancel it by adding some information that corrects the situation. For example, if in my report after visiting a teacher I writre:
"The teacher's lesson plan is written on beautiful sheets of paper", it would imply that there is nothing substantial about the plan, and that its content is weak. But if I add to this "This is only one aspect of the teacher's merits; in fact the lesson plan itself is thoughtfully prepared and effectively carried out". The last part of my text has cancelled the initial implicated meaning.
co-operative principle
In natural conversation, we try while speaking to one another to cooperate and construct meaningful conversations. This assumption is called as the Cooperative Principle. It was proposed by Grice 1975, stating that participants expect that each will make a "conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange."
Example:
When a speaker says "War is war,"which seems uninformative, the addressee assumes that the speaker is being cooperative and looks for the implicature the speaker is making.
maxim of relevance
or The Maxims of Relation: it means to stay on topic, or to stick to the point.
Example: (while entering the inspectors' center)
doorman: How can I help you, Sir?
Visitor: The weather is really nice in Rabat.
This is not relevant / the mixim is violated.
maxim of informativeness
This means to make our contributions to conversation just sufficient, as required from us. The contribution should not be longer than needed.
maxim of clarity (includes brevity, avoidance of ambiguity/obscurity)
This has to do with the style of delivering our contribution, also called manner, and includes:
Avoiding obscurity of expression.
Avoiding ambiguity.
Being brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity).
Being orderly, that is, following a logical and organised pattern or sequence.
2. What do the notions entailment and implicature have in common? How do they differ?
similarities
differences
Both entailments and implicatures are not apparent at the surface level of utterances. The hearer or reader makes an effort to work them out.
An entailment follows the rule "In every conceivable situation in which A is true, B is also true", while an implicature
implicatures are derived on the basis of assumptions about the speaker which might turn out to be wrong
Entailments follow from what is said. Implicatures do not. (An implicature is derived on the basis
of what is said, together with some assumptions about what the speaker is trying to achieve).
entailments cannot be cancelled; there is no qualification that one could add to "The president was assassinated" which would cause it to cease entailing "The president is dead" while also preserving the meaning of the first sentence.
Example: if a supervisor writes in a visit report to a teacher; "Mr Sllami tells very good jokes and organizes nice parties in class", we understand that this teacher is not serious. So, this not an entailment, but rather an implicature.
What does it mean to say that implicatures are non-truth-conditional inferences?
The notion was introduced to explain how speakers can mean more with their utterance than what they say . Some implicatures are conventionally tied to specific words (like but in its conventional implicature of contrast), others follow on the basis of the Cooperative Principle and its maxims.
When we say that implicatures don't contribute to the truth-conditional content of the utterance, we mean that linguistic elements alone are not enough to account for what the speaker intends.
3. An implicature can result through the flouting of one of the maxims by the speaker (B), in which the hearer (A) can infer something not explicitly said if the speaker (B) disregards one of the maxims (whether intentionally or not), though the hearer (A) assumes that the speaker is not doing so. Give an implicature of B's utterance in each of the following situations, and then identify the maxim(s) (i.e. relevance, informativeness, or clarity) that has/have been flouted (and thus which led the hearer to this implicature).
Note that none of the implicatures from B's utterances are actually entailed by the sentences uttered by B.
a A:'Professor, will you write a letter of recommendation for me?'
B: 'Certainly. I will say that you were always neatly dressed, punctual, and are
unfailingly polite.'
Implicature: A is not a good student / does not do well in class.
Maxim flouted: relevance.
b A: 'How are you today?'
B: 'Oh, Lansing is the capital of Michigan.'
Implicature: B is not in a good mood to talk.
Maxim flouted: relevance
c A: 'I'm not feeling very well today.'
B: 'There's a hospital across the street.'
Implicature: B can't help.
Maxim flouted: relevance
d A:'What did you think of that new movie?'
B: 'Well, the costumes were authentic.'
Implicature: B does not want to talk about the topic / or : there is nothing good except the costumes.
Maxim flouted: relevance
e A:'How did you get that car into the dining room?'
B: 'It was easy. I made a left turn when I came out of the kitchen.'
Implicature: B avoids saying the truth.
Maxim flouted: relevance / quality
f A:'What colour did you paint your living room?'
B: 'I painted the walls off-white to match the black sofa. The trimming will be gray
except by the door, which will be salmon to match the Picasso print I bought two
years ago.'
Implicature: B has good furniture
Maxim flouted: quality / manner
g. A: 'How's the weather?'
B: 'It's 86.7 degrees Fahrenheit. The air is humid, muggy, and the pavement is so hot I
can feel it through my shoes.'
Implicature: B is knowledgeable and updated about detailed weather description / or B has a sophisticated gadget
Maxim flouted: quality / manner
h. A: 'What's your recipe for a birthday cake?'
B: 'It should have icing. Use unbleached flour and sugar in the cake and bake it for
an hour. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and beat in three fresh eggs.'
Implicature: B wants to get rid of the question as soon as possible.
Maxim flouted: manner : it is not orderly.
i A:'How do you like my new suit?'
B: 'Well, your shoes look nice.'
Implicature: B does not like A's suit.
Maxim flouted: relevance.
j A:'Have you done your homework and taken out the garbage?'
B: 'I've taken out the garbage.'
Implicature: B has not done the homework.
Maxim flouted: quantity.
k A: 'I may win the lottery for $83 million.'
B: 'There may be people on Mars, too.'
Implicature: it's almost impossible that A wins that amount of money
Maxim flouted: relevance.
4 For each of the following ï¬ll in an appropriate utterance for B which implicates (but does not entail) the indicated implicature. There may be several appropriate possibilities
a A:'Let's see if this store has what we are looking for.'
B: we don't own the bank of England........................................................
Implicature: The store sells expensive merchandise
b A:'Why don't we have lunch in this restaurant?'
B: .......I am trying to keep fit.....................................
Implicature: The food there is too fattening
c A:'Are the Browns at home?'
B: .Their car is in the driveway
Implicature:The Browns are usually home when their car is in the driveway
dA:'Should we turn right or left?'
B: Haven't you got GPS on your car?...................................
Implicature:B isn't sure which way to turn
e A:'How is your physics course going?'
B: I should take up evening classes
Implicature:B is having trouble in the course
5. Think about the meaning relationship between the following pair of sentences.
a Most birds are on the lawn
b Many birds are on the lawn
Does (a) entail or merely implicate (b)? Expalin
Implies (b) because even if (b) is false, (a) may still be correct ( for example if the number of birds is 3). We know that entailment means that if A is true, B is always true.
6. Consider the following exchange.
A: I may win the lottery for $83 million
B: There may be people on Mars, too
A: What are you, some kind of astronomer?
B originally triggered an implicature in her response to A's original statement.
What effect does A's retort then have on the implicature originally triggered by B?
The effect of cancelling the implicature.
