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Conversational Implicature: Maxim of Quality. The Speaker does not want to give a precise answer because he might be uncertain. | Conversational Implicature: Maxim of Quality. The Speaker does not want to give a precise answer because he might be uncertain. | ||
== Dialogue by [[User:Moonhwa9113]] == | |||
1. '''Tom:''' “Good morning Mary, did you sleep well?” <br/> | |||
2. '''Mary:''' “Not really. I dreamt I was a rat. It was awful” <br/> | |||
3. '''Tom:''' “This might sound odd but I think I heard you squeaking last night.” <br/> | |||
'''Entailment:''' | |||
Line 1 entails that Mary had been sleeping. | |||
'''Presupposition:''' | |||
In line 2 Mary explains she dreamt she was a rat which proves she isn’t in real-life. Hence it forms a non-factive presupposition. | |||
'''Implicature''' | |||
In line 3 we see that the speaker Tom hedges (maxim of quality) while he carefully admits to have heard Mary squeaking but is either not sure or simply does not want to embarrass her. | |||
Revision as of 21:38, 1 December 2012
Warning:
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Homework of November 27
Task
Come up with or report a short dialogue and use it to illustrate:
- one entailment
- one presupposition (what is the trigger? what kind of presupposition is it?)
- one implicature (what kind of implicature is it? show the calculation by applying the maxims in the case of conversational implicatures)
Dialogues
Dialogue by User:Manfred
The following passage is taken from David Mitchell Cloud Atlas, London: Sceptre, 2004, p.33f.
(Comment: this is not a real dialogue, but the text is clear enough so that it is easy to see what has been said in the described situtation.)
- Along the gangway I stepped (Prophetess was bucking like a
- young bronco) to the officers' mess, knocked & entered. Mr
- Roderick & Mr Boerhaave were listening to Cpt. Molyneux. I
- cleared my throat and bade all good morning, at which our ami-
- cable captain swore, `You can better my morning by b-ing
- off, instanter!´
- Coolly, I asked when the captain might find time to hear news
- of an Indian stowaway who had just emerged from the coils of
- hawser taking up my `so-called cabin´. During the ensuing silence
- Cpt. Molyneux's pale, horny-toad complexion turned roast beef
- pink. Ere his blast was launched, I added the stowaway claimed
- to be an able-seaman & begged to work his passage.
Entailment: Line 4: I bade all good morning entails I said something
Presupposition:
Lines 8/9: hear news of an Indian stowaway .... Presupposes: there is an Indian stowaway ....
Type of presuppostion: factive
Note 1: it is remarkable that in this case the presupposition projects over a modal (might) and an embedded question (when ...).
Note 2: the factive presupposition with hear is not as strong as with know, realize or the other predicates discussed in class.
Note 3: In line 12, the verb claim is used. Its complement clause's content (the stowaway is an able-seamben) is not presupposed.
Implicature:
Lines 10: my so-called cabin. Implicature: my cabin is not a proper cabin (because of all the stored hawser)
Type of implicature: particularized conversational implicature.
Calculation: The maxim of manner seems to be flouted (be brief) by the apperantly superfluous so-called. The addressee understands that the speaker wants to communicate more than just saying that the stowaway was in his cabin. The attribute so-called indicates that the object does not fully satisfy the criteria of what would count as a real cabin.
Add your dialogues here
Dialogue by User:Lorena
1. Tim: "Why didn´t you come to John´s party last Saturday night?
2. Most of our friends were there."
3. Kevin: "Well, if I hadn´t had to pick my parents from the airport...
4. I heavily regret that I couldn´t be there."
5. Tim: "I see. Your parents were on holiday, I guess."
6. Kevin: " Yes, exactly."
1. structural presupposition: Tim presupposes that the Kevin knows that there was a party on the particular place and time mentionend. This part of information is assumed to be true, so he can ask a question that contains these given facts.
2. scalar implicature: Tim expresses how many friends there were at the party. He implicates that there were more than many, but less than all friends there.
entailment: If Tim´s first sentence is true, than his second one is also true; i.e. If there was a party and he went there, it is likely that he also met friends there.
3. counterfactual presupposition: The opposite of Kevin´s utterance is true - he had to pick his parents from the airport.
Furthermore, his utterance serves as an explanation for his absence and implicates that if he hadn´t had to fetch them, he would have been at the party.
4. factive presupposition: The verb regret emphasizes the fact of his absence. But it also expresses that he could have been there.
5. hedge (I guess) concerning the maxim of quality of the cooperative principle: Tim conveys that he is not quite sure if his friend´s parents were abroad. The usage of this cautious note indicates that his inference might not be accurate.
Dialogue by User:Lisa
- Lisa and Verena are chatting during a lecture.
- Lisa says: "I really regret havig taken this course."
- Verena nodds and asks: "How is your dog?"
- "Oh she is fine. But yesterday she drove me crazy.
- She chased a cat and ran into a garden!"
Entailment:
Line 1:
Lisa is talking.
Verena is talking.
Presupposition:
Line 2: "I regret having taken this course" presupposes that Lisa took the course. The presupposed information following the verb "regret" can be treated as a fact. Therefore, it is a factive presuppostion.
Line 3: "How is your dog" presupposes that Lisa has a dog. Explanation as in 2.
Implicature:
Line 5: "...chased a cat and ran into a garden!" Implicature: It was not Lisa´s cat or garden. She does not know to whom both belongs. Here, no special knowledge is required in the context to calculate the additional conveyed meaning. If Lisa was capable of being more specific she would have said "my garden/cat" or " the garden/cat of xy" (following the maxim of quantity). Therefore, it is a generalized conversational implicature.
Dialogue by User:AnKa
1. A: We have many teachers in our school.
2. B: Is there a male English teacher at your school?
3. A: The class next door has a male teacher.
Line 1:
Entailment:
A has at least some teachers in her/his school.
Line 2: Presupposition: Either there is a male English teacher at the school or there isn’t. It is a question.
Line 3: Implicature Conversational Implicature: Maxim of Quality. The Speaker does not want to give a precise answer because he might be uncertain.
Dialogue by User:Moonhwa9113
1. Tom: “Good morning Mary, did you sleep well?”
2. Mary: “Not really. I dreamt I was a rat. It was awful”
3. Tom: “This might sound odd but I think I heard you squeaking last night.”
Entailment:
Line 1 entails that Mary had been sleeping.
Presupposition: In line 2 Mary explains she dreamt she was a rat which proves she isn’t in real-life. Hence it forms a non-factive presupposition.
Implicature In line 3 we see that the speaker Tom hedges (maxim of quality) while he carefully admits to have heard Mary squeaking but is either not sure or simply does not want to embarrass her.
Back to the course overview
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