Language Acquisition

What is Grice's Cooperative Principle?

The idea that speakers and hearers cooperate in conversation to be understood.

What assumption underlies cooperative conversations?

That both speaker and listener are working together to communicate meaning effectively.

What are Grice's three main maxims of conversation?

Quantity, Relation, and Quality.

What is the Maxim of Quantity?

Provide enough information—neither too little nor too much.

What implicature can arise from saying 'This class is on Mondays'?

It may imply the class is only on Mondays (even if not explicitly stated).

What is the Maxim of Relation?

Be relevant to the context of the conversation.

How does relevance create implicatures?

Listeners assume statements are relevant and infer additional meaning based on that assumption.

What is implied by 'Can I stay up late?' — 'Mommy needs her glass of wine.'?

The child must go to bed so the parent can relax → No, the child cannot stay up late.

When do implicatures fail to arise?

When the speaker is not cooperative or is irrelevant.

What is the Maxim of Quality?

Be truthful and do not say what you believe to be false.

What does a listener assume when a speaker follows the Maxim of Quality?

That the speaker has evidence and believes what they are saying is true.

What are implicatures?

Meanings that are implied rather than explicitly stated, based on context and cooperative principles.

Name three properties of implicatures.

They can be canceled, don't arise in conditionals, and may not arise in certain contexts.

What happens when implicatures are violated?

The sentence becomes infelicitous (odd or inappropriate in context).

What is semantic meaning?

The literal meaning of a sentence, including assertion and presupposition.

What is an assertion?

The basic, literal meaning of a statement; if false, the sentence is false.

What is a presupposition?

A condition that must be true for a sentence to make sense; if violated, the sentence is undefined.

What is pragmatic meaning?

Meaning derived from context, including implicatures.

How are implicatures used in advertising and politics?

To suggest ideas indirectly without explicitly stating them.

Why might a statement like 'I support good schools' be pragmatically weak?

Because it relies on implicatures and doesn't explicitly state specific actions or policies.

What is the assertion of the sentence 'This class is on Mondays'?

The class meets on Mondays.

What is the implicature of the sentence 'This class is on Mondays'?

The class may only be on Mondays (not other days).

What is the assertion of 'Mommy needs her glass of wine.' in response to 'Can I stay up late?'?

Mommy needs her wine.

What is the implicature of 'Mommy needs her glass of wine.' in response to 'Can I stay up late?'?

The child needs to go to bed → cannot stay up late.

Why does the implicature fail in 'I need my milk. Do you want to stay up late?'?

The speaker is not being relevant, so no clear inference can be made.

What maxim creates the implicature that 'This class is on Mondays' is only Mondays?

Maxim of Quantity (not giving extra info suggests no other days).

Which maxim supports the inference 'The speaker checked the schedule.'?

Maxim of Quality (assumes truthfulness and evidence).

What is implied by 'Tina can't see without glasses.'?

Tina needs glasses to see properly.

What kind of meaning is typically involved beyond literal meaning in 'Bill is a genius.'?

Implicature (may imply exceptional intelligence in context).

What implicature might arise from 'Carolyn has two sisters.'?

She has exactly two (not more), based on Quantity.

What is the assertion of the political statement 'I support good schools.'?

The speaker supports good schools.

What does Quantity suggest?

The speaker gave enough information (didn't say more).

What does Quality suggest?

Stronger statements like 'great' or 'amazing' are not true.

Why are scalar implicatures useful in communication?

They allow listeners to infer stronger or more precise meanings than what is explicitly stated.

What does the response 'John discovered that the food looks nice' suggest pragmatically?

John may not have liked the food (indirect/weak answer).

Which maxim is likely being flouted in the previous example?

Relation (the response is not directly relevant).

What additional maxim is included beyond Quantity, Quality, and Relation?

Manner (be clear, orderly, and avoid ambiguity).

What does the Maxim of Manner require?

Clarity, brevity, and lack of ambiguity in communication.

What underlying cognitive ability is essential for communication?

Reasoning.

What ability is required to connect 'I love ice cream.' to 'Let's go to Cold Stone.'?

Reasoning (understanding relevance and intent).

Why is the question 'Are you hungry?' relevant in context?

It implies a suggestion to get food (Relation + reasoning).

What is ambiguity resolution?

The ability to determine the correct meaning when a sentence has multiple interpretations.

What is pronoun reference?

Figuring out who or what a pronoun refers to in context.

What emotional ability supports communication besides reasoning?

Empathy and emotion.

What ability is needed to interpret 'Megan married Andrew.' → 'That's horrible!'?

Understanding emotion and social context.

What role does intonation play in communication?

It conveys meaning through melody, stress, and rhythm.

What affects the meaning of 'I love... you.'?

Intonation (tone and timing).

What is 'judgement' in communication?

The ability to assess appropriateness based on context (e.g., roles, setting).

What is 'orientation' in communication?

Awareness of time, place, people, and situation.

What are the components of orientation?

Time, place, people, and situation.