The notion of implicature was first introduced by Grice (1967, 1989), who defined it essentially as what is communicated less what is said. This definition contributed in part to the proliferation of a large number of different species of implicature by neo-Griceans. Relevance theorists have responded to this by proposing a shift back to the distinction between explicit and implicit meaning (corresponding to explicature and implicature respectively). However, they appear to have pared down the concept of implicature too much, ignoring phenomena which may be better treated as implicatures in their over-generalisation of the concept of explicature. These problems have their roots in the fact that explicit and implicit meaning intuitively overlap, and thus do not provide a suitable basis for distinguishing implicature from other types of pragmatic phenomena. An alternative conceptualisation of implicature based on the concept of implying with which Grice originally associated his notion of implicature is thus proposed. From this definition it emerges that implicature constitutes something else inferred by the addressee that is not literally said by the speaker. Instead, it is meant in addition to what the literally speaker says, and consequently, it is defeasible like all other types of pragmatic phenomena.

On Grice's circle (a theory-internal problem in linguistic theories of the Gricean type)

in cognitive semantics

In this article, we examine the relationship between literal and figurative meanings in view of mental spaces and conceptual blending theory as developed by Fauconnier & Turner (2002). Beginning with a brief introduction to the theory, we proceed by analyzing examples of metaphor, fictive motion, and virtual change to reveal various processes of meaning construction at work in a range of examples that vary in their figurativity. While a dichotomous distinction between literal and figurative language is difficult to maintain, we suggest that the notion of coded meaning is a useful one, and argue that coded meanings play an important role in the construction of conceptual integration networks for literal and figurative meanings alike. In addition, we explore various notions of context as it pertains to literal and figurative interpretation of language, focusing on Langacker's concept of ground. We suggest that there is much to be gained by explicating the mechanisms by which local context affect the process of meaning construction. 1.

for a degree at Newcastle University or any other university. Statement of copyright The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. 3 The present study is an attempt to investigate the use of discourse markers in English and Arabic. The study uses Relevance Theory as a theoretical framework for the analysis of discourse markers in both Syrian and Standard Arabic. It benefits from Blakemore’s (1987, 2002) account of procedural meaning, in which she argues that discourse markers encode procedural meaning that constrains the inferential phase of the interpretation of the utterance in which they occur. According to Blakemore, the procedural meaning encoded by discourse markers controls the hearer’s choice of context under which the utterance is relevant. The study concentrates on ten discourse markers, five of which are only

In this article, we examine the relationship between literal and figurative meanings in view of mental spaces and conceptual blending theory as developed by Fauconnier & Turner (2002). Beginning with a brief introduction to the theory, we proceed by analyzing examples of metaphor, fictive motion, and virtual change to reveal various processes of meaning construction at work in a range of examples that vary in their figurativity. While a dichotomous distinction between literal and figurative language is difficult to maintain, we suggest that the notion of coded meaning is a useful one, and argue that coded meanings play an important role in the construction of conceptual integration networks for literal and figurative meanings alike. In addition, we explore various notions of context as it pertains to literal and figurative interpretation of language, focusing on Langacker's concept of ground. We suggest that there is much to be gained by explicating the mechanisms by which local context affects the process of meaning construction.