The Fossilisation of Grice

No. I don't mean _him_. I mean his _ideas_. Consider what he says about

conversational
implicature

.
.
.
V

conventional
implicature

(WoW, iii). -- I'm currently discussing this with Kramer under "Grice's Naturalism without tears" --.

Grice uses the expression,

'what started life'

What started life as (i) may become (ii). I.e. a conventional implicature, when scratched, will show her true colours as the wicked conversational implicature she once was.

Traugott's example:

I have eaten a sandwich.
Originally: I have a sandwich eaten.

Etc.

But, is this so? I mean, linguists usually don't care -- less so Traugott. The lady is teaching at Berkeley, tenured too, and she has to fill lectures with important-sounding things like "The fossilisation of conversational implicature: a case study from the HOTEL -- history of the English language". But us, mere bloggers?

I claim that

it's very difficult, indeed impossible, that what was once cancellable no longer is.

If cancellability is the trademark of a true conversational implicature, how can she turn into an unashamed conventional one.

Perhaps Kartunnen wasn't so wrong when he guessed that conventional implicature is dead. Even if L. Horn cares to suspect the obituary was premature.

JLS