Implicature

Apr 4, 2008 at 7:15 AM
2 comments

So I am wondering if anyone else has the problems with implied meaning, via texting, that I have encountered. I have a particular friend who does everything in her power not to have a normal phone conversation and insists on texting only. To say the least this is somewhat aggravating at times. Anyway, even though we know each other quite well (personalities, humor, etc.) we have problems figuring out sometimes what is being implied in our messages. This is because so many implicatures must be accompanied by tone of voice, body language, intonation, etc. so that they will be understood. So what do you all think?

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I hate texting. First of all, it costs extra money (for me at least) and second, I would much rather talk to someone than write them messages back and forth. However, I realize a lot of people do it, and I can imagine how meaning is sometimes lost because body language, tone, etc. can't come into play. Some huge percent of communication is done through ways other than actual speech, right? I guess this is why people use emodicons, =) ;) :( etc. and the lol acronyms, to try to convey some message that speech itself doesn't cover.

I agree that this is a difficult problem from time to time. often, I am confused because it is hard to tell if someone is joking or not. I think this is the cause for the rise of - lol/haha written after any and every statement that is to be taken as a joke.

Implicature

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