2.2 Implicature
Implicature is a term which is used to describe something that is conveyed beyond the
semantic meaning of the words in a conversation, something that adds an extra level of
meaning. Implicatures can be divided into two kinds, conventional implicatures and
conversational implicatures. Conventional implicatures are words that can carry an
implicature within a sentence. Four words that function as implicatures on the sentence level
are but, even, therefore and yet (Thomas 1995:57). Thomas (1995:57) explains that in the
utterance “she was cursed with a stammer, unmarried but far from stupid” but has the
function to convey the opposite of the expectations, which is to say that unmarried people are
usually stupid. A conversational implicature, on the other hand, is when an utterance in a
conversation has more meaning than the words uttered. Thomas (1995:58) provides the
example of an ambulance man who has someone vomit in his lap and utters “Great, that's
really great! That's made my Christmas”. Here something other than the words uttered is
being implied; there is an additional set of meaning, and the man is actually expressing that
he does not enjoy getting vomit all over his lap.