Resolving symmetry without constraining alternatives

Abstract

In cases where an assertion could in principle lead to several, mutually incompatible quantity implicatures, some of these implicatures seem systematically unavailable. Katzir (2007) and Fox & Katzir (2011) aim to solve this so-called `symmetry problem’ by preventing implicatures that are based on the exclusion of alternatives that are syntactically more complex than the assertion itself. We argue that this complexity filter on alternatives falls short of solving the symmetry problem completely, and is in fact incompatible with the full range of observed implicatures. We propose a solution to the symmetry problem that, in addition to context, appeals to a blocking condition: enriching the meaning of an utterance \phiϕ with an implicature is blocked if the same meaning can be expressed without this implicature, by an utterance that is no more complex than \phiϕ. In making our case, we also argue against a central auxiliary assumption that Katzir and Fox’s account appeals to, namely the assumption that symmetry cannot be resolved by context.

EARLY ACCESS