Cooperation and Implicature

1. Cooperation and implicature

This sense of cooperation is simply one in which people having a conversation are not normally assumed to be trying to confuse, trick or withhold relevant information from each other" (Yule : 1996, p.35)

1.1. Cooperation

Cooperation is an essential speakers and listeners are interacting. 

It concerns a basic assumption in conversation that each participant will attempt to contribute appropriately, at the required time, to the current exchange of talk.

1.2. The Maxims of cooperation

The maxims of the cooperative principle are:

Quantity.

1. Make your contributions as informative as is required (for the current purpose of the exchange)

2. Do not make your contribution more informative than is required.

Quality. Try to make your contribution one that is true.

1. Do not say what you believe to be false.

2. Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.

Relation. Be relevant.

Manner. Be perspicuous. 

1. Avoid obscurity of expression.

2. Avoid ambiguity.

3. be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity).

4. Be orderly.

1.3. Implicature

An implicature is an additional conveyed meaning. It is a message that communicates something more than just what the words mean. ( Yule, 1996)

1.4. Types of Implicature

Conversational implicature : In this case the speaker communicates meaning via implicature and the listener recognizes communicated meaning via inference.

Generalized conversational implicature: In this type, no special knowledge is required in the context to calculate the additional conveyed meaning.

Scalar implicature : There are words that are mentioned to communicate an amount of something in a scale. 

Particularized conversational implicatures : In this type,  context helps inferences to be assumed. 

Conventional implicatures:  Conventional implicatures are associated with specific words and result in additional conveyed meanings when those are used.