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A:
Do you own a Cadillac?
B:
I wouldn’t own any American car.
Interpreted literally, Speaker B is refusing to answer Speaker A’s yes/no question. But Speaker A will probably understand the response more naturally, supplying a series of plausible inferences that would explain how her query might have prompted B’s retort. Speaker A’s interpretation might( Read more... )
Do you own a Cadillac?
B:
I wouldn’t own any American car.
Interpreted literally, Speaker B is refusing to answer Speaker A’s yes/no question. But Speaker A will probably understand the response more naturally, supplying a series of plausible inferences that would explain how her query might have prompted B’s retort. Speaker A’s interpretation might( Read more... )
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