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The Social Side of Language
A.
Consider the sentences below, and try to interpret what the speaker may have meant by it. Does your understood meaning go beyond what is expressed by the literal language?
1. Blaine considered buying a condo.
2. Celine was fired from her job. She eats raw onions every day.
3. When I was depressed, I found it very helpful to talk to a therapist.
4. Michel managed to read a few of the articles on the reading list.
5. Fiona would like to marry a rich man.
6. This is the person Marion shares an apartment with.
Once you’ve read and interpreted these sentences, check to see whether your interpretation included the implicatures listed below.
Click here to see the possible implicatures.
B.
Consider the following sentence:
“I would like to marry a rich man.”
Should a reasonable hearer infer that the speaker doesn’t care if her future husband is intelligent? Imagine that this sentence was uttered in each of the following contexts. How does the context affect the likelihood of the inference?
Context 1:
Person A: What are your goals in life?
Person B. I would like to marry a rich man.
Context 2:
A: What traits are important to you in a life partner?
B: I would like to marry a rich man.
Context 3:
A. I’d like to marry an intelligent man.
B. I’d like to marry a rich man.
Context 4:
A: I’d like to marry a man who is intelligent and rich.
B. I’d like to marry a rich man.
Now try generating some contexts that affect the interpretation of this sentence:
“My parents would be excited if I got a job as a cashier.”
How does the interpretation change, and what role is the context playing in causing these shifts?