Friday, February 26, 2010

Implicatures: What's Communicated Without Being Said

"Only Muriel voted for Humphrey, if even she did."
-Sadock, 1978 (HT: Kroeger)

Implicature: Humphrey didn't get many votes, and didn't even vote for himself.
Q: Who does that sentence talk about?
A: Muriel was Humphrey's wife, and Humphrey was the VP under Lyndon B Johnson. Humphrey later ran for President in the 60s and lost to Nixon. 

What implicatures have you accomplished recently?

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