Affiliation:
1. Shandong University
2. Zhejiang Gongshang University
Abstract
Abstract
Scalar implicature is a very interesting topic in linguistic pragmatics. This study is intended to argue that,
based on the Cognitive Grammar paradigm, scalar implicature is contextually activated by schematic networks. From a hierarchical
perspective, those linguistic units sharing the same schema can be compared; from a horizontal perspective, these units are
distributed from the stronger to the weaker in terms of semantic inclusion. The encyclopedic nature of context determines that
using a weaker lexical item to implicate the denial of a stronger statement has become a cognitive routine which is presumed to be
shared by the speaker and hearer. The study concludes that scalar implicature lies in between semantics and pragmatics.
Publisher
John Benjamins Publishing Company