On Conversational Implicatures in Questions Cover Image

O implikaturach konwersacyjnych pytań
On Conversational Implicatures in Questions

Author(s): Tomasz A. Puczyłowski, Daniel Ziembicki
Subject(s): History of Philosophy, Philosophical Traditions, Special Branches of Philosophy
Published by: Uniwersytet Warszawski - Wydział Filozofii i Socjologii, Instytut Filozofii
Keywords: implicatures; pragmatics; questions; semantics

Summary/Abstract: This article explores the connection between questions and conversational implicatures. We put forward a theoretical argument to the effect that questions can contain such implicatures. We also present extensive empirical material that confirms this hypothesis. The article focuses on a class of utterances used simultaneously to express an epistemic stance toward a state of affairs stated in a subordinate clause and to receive a response from an interlocutor, like in the following example: Don’t you think Peter should be going home now?

  • Issue Year: 26/2018
  • Issue No: 1 (101)
  • Page Range: 23-48
  • Page Count: 26
  • Language: Polish