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In theNeo-Gricean approach tosemantics andpragmatics championed byYale linguistLaurence Horn, theQ-principle ("Q" for "Quantity") is a reformulation ofPaul Grice's maxim of quantity (seeGricean maxims) combined with the first two sub-maxims of manner.[1] The Q-principle states: "Say as much as you can (given R)." As such it interacts with theR-principle, which states: "Say no more than you must (given Q)."[2][3]
The Q-principle leads to theimplicature (or narrowing) that if the speaker did not make a stronger statement (or say more), then its denial is (implied to be) true. For instance, the inference from "He entered a house" to "He did not enter his own house" is Q-based inference, i.e. deriving from the Q-principle.[2]
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