Explicature and impliciture are crucial concepts in understanding how we interpret language. Explicature deals with the explicit meaning derived from linguistic expressions, while impliciture refers to the implicit meaning inferred from context and shared knowledge.

These concepts work together to convey the full meaning of an utterance. By examining how we decode linguistic content and draw inferences, we gain insight into the complex process of communication and the role of context in shaping our understanding.

Explicature and Impliciture in Pragmatic Inference

Explicature and impliciture definitions

• Explicature refers to the explicit meaning of an utterance derived from the logical form encoded by the linguistic expressions used
  • Obtained through a combination of decoding the linguistic content and making inferences based on contextual information
  • Involves developing the logical form into a fully propositional form that can be evaluated as true or false (John ate the cake)
• Impliciture is the implicit meaning of an utterance that goes beyond what is explicitly stated
  • Derived through pragmatic inference based on the context, speaker's intentions, and shared knowledge between the speaker and hearer
  • Relies on the hearer's ability to draw inferences from the explicature and contextual factors to arrive at the intended meaning (John is full)

Explicature vs impliciture examples

• Example 1: "It's cold in here"
  • Explicature: The speaker is stating that the temperature in the current location is low
  • Impliciture: The speaker is requesting the hearer to take action to make the room warmer (close the window, turn up the heat, provide a blanket)
• Example 2: "I have a deadline tomorrow"
  • Explicature: The speaker is informing the hearer about an upcoming deadline they need to meet
  • Impliciture: The speaker is implying they cannot attend a social event or take on additional tasks due to the time constraint imposed by the deadline

Identification of pragmatic inferences

• Steps to identify explicatures:
  1. Identify the linguistic expressions used in the utterance (words, phrases, sentences)
  2. Determine the logical form encoded by the expressions (semantic meaning)
  3. Enrich the logical form with reference assignment (he = John), disambiguation (bank = financial institution), and other pragmatic processes to arrive at the explicit meaning
• Steps to identify implicitures:
  1. Consider the context in which the utterance is made (setting, relationship between speakers, prior conversation)
  2. Identify the speaker's intentions and shared knowledge with the hearer (goals, beliefs, experiences)
  3. Draw inferences based on the explicature and contextual factors to derive the implicit meaning (speaker's request, implication, or suggestion)

Role in utterance interpretation

• Explicature and impliciture work together to convey the full meaning of an utterance
  • Explicature provides the foundation of the explicit content, while impliciture builds upon it to convey the implicit meaning intended by the speaker
  • Both are essential for successful communication and understanding the speaker's intentions beyond the literal meaning of the words
• The hearer's role in interpreting explicatures and implicitures is active and inferential
  • The hearer must decode the linguistic expressions and develop the logical form into an explicature using contextual information
  • The hearer must also draw inferences based on context and shared knowledge to derive implicitures and fully understand the speaker's intended meaning
• Context plays a crucial role in deriving implicitures and interpreting the full meaning of an utterance
  • Factors such as the relationship between the speaker and hearer (friends, colleagues, strangers), shared experiences (common background), and cultural norms (politeness, directness) influence the interpretation of implicitures
  • The same utterance can have different implicitures depending on the context in which it is used (request, warning, sarcasm)