implicature

Implicature is a concept in communication where the meaning of what is said goes beyond the literal words. It involves listeners inferring additional information based on context, tone, or shared knowledge. For example, if someone says, “It’s cold in here,” they might be implying they want the window closed, even though they didn’t say so explicitly. Implicature relies on the assumption that both speaker and listener understand certain social norms and background information, allowing messages to be understood efficiently without everything being explicitly stated.