In the evolving landscape of linguistic theory, the concept of conventionalization has long sparked vigorous debate. Within the realm of post-Gricean pragmatics—the study of meaning beyond literal interpretation—conventionalization occupies a contentious space that divides leading theorists. While some scholars, such as Levinson, champion the idea that repeated social usage engenders fixed, conventional meanings, adherents of Relevance Theory take a more skeptical stance, rejecting this process outright. A novel perspective emerges from the Diachronic Cognitive-Pragmatic Model (DCPM), which reconceptualizes conventionalization as a dynamic, collective phenomenon shaped by ongoing usage patterns and underpinned by cognitive entrenchment in individual minds. This model offers a robust framework to explain how pragmatic meanings, initially fluid and context-bound, solidify into stable coded meanings over time.
At the heart of this approach lies the differentiation between two key types of conversational implicatures: Particularized Conversational Implicatures (PCIs) and Generalized Conversational Implicatures (GCIs). PCIs are context-dependent, arising from specific communicative situations, whereas GCIs are more stable, generalized inferences embedded within the language system. The DCPM posits that repeated instances of highly salient PCIs become entrenched as GCIs through frequent use, ultimately transforming into conventionalized, dictionary-worthy lexical meanings. This progression, the study argues, transcends traditional pragmatic principles, emphasizing a diachronic trajectory wherein semantic change is driven by cognitive and social mechanisms rather than by abstract inferential rules alone.
An illustrative case examined within this framework is the Chinese term hóngyǎn (红眼), which exhibits a variety of pragmatic meanings ranging from the literal “pinkeye” to metaphorical and idiomatic senses like “jealous,” “overnight,” and “red-eye effect.” Analysis reveals six PCIs associated with hóngyǎn—“pinkeye,” “jealous,” “overnight,” “become infuriated,” “red from crying,” and “red-eye effect”—that demonstrate relatively high adjusted frequencies in repeated usage situations. This high usage frequency fosters stronger cognitive entrenchment, allowing these meanings to become progressively routinized and more salient. As these entrenched GCIs circulate within the speech community, they become more stable and widely recognized, culminating in their conventionalization as new coded meanings.
Yet not all pragmatic meanings follow this entwined path. Nine other PCIs linked to hóngyǎn—including “fatigue,” “game profession,” “grandchild,” “infrared guidance device style,” “drunkenness,” “greed,” “wine,” “temptation,” and “beautiful women”—exhibit markedly lower frequencies of repeated use. Consequently, these meanings face obstacles in the entrenchment process, rendering them less likely to achieve the status of entrenched GCIs. Since cognitive entrenchment at the individual level is a necessary precursor to social conventionalization, the diminished entrenchment of these nine meanings stifles their diffusion and solidification within the speech community. Thus, their semantic evolution stalls before reaching the threshold of dictionary recognition.
A compelling tension unfolds when we compare these theoretical trajectories to actual lexical inclusion in authoritative language references. The Modern Chinese Dictionary (7th Edition) includes only three coded meanings of hóngyǎn: “pinkeye,” “jealous,” and “become infuriated.” These three have successfully navigated the entrenchment-conventionalization process across ancient, modern, and contemporary Chinese contexts, highlighting their deep-rooted conventional status. Conversely, despite demonstrating strong signs of entrenchment and conventionalization, meanings such as “overnight,” “red from crying,” and “red-eye effect” remain absent from the dictionary. This absence hints at underlying complexities influencing lexicographical decision-making.
Two plausible explanations for this lexical exclusion emerge from the analysis. From a diachronic standpoint, “overnight” and “red-eye effect” lack sufficient conventionalization history in both ancient and modern Chinese, while “red from crying” is similarly deficient in ancient contexts. Thus, their relatively recent rise in use may not yet command the historical depth typically required for formal inclusion. Additionally, the inherent time lag in dictionary compilation processes may contribute; dictionaries, tasked with documenting stable language norms, often require protracted periods of observation and verification before integrating new meanings. This delay underscores the enduring gap between evolving language realities and their codification in reference works, illuminating the friction between linguistic innovation and institutional endorsement.
The diachronic lens afforded by DCPM also invites a profound reevaluation of the relationship between different types of meanings. The study reinforces Grice’s foundational view that GCIs and PCIs are distinct yet intricately linked. Importantly, it posits a diachronic progression wherein some GCIs arise historically from repeated PCIs. This developmental pathway furthers our understanding of how context-bound pragmatic inferences morph into generalized, coded meanings. Such insight challenges the traditional dichotomy between principle-based pragmatic inference and the lexical semantics of language, suggesting instead a continuum marked by gradual semanticization.
Central to this transformation is the entrenchment-conventionalization process itself. Under post-Gricean pragmatics, conversational implicatures typically emerge as ad-hoc, principle-governed inferences drawn in real-time. However, DCPM characterizes pragmatic meanings as cognitive constructs that, through repetitive activation motivated by processes such as metonymization, metaphorization, and metaphtonymization, become entrenched and conventionalized over time. This diachronic perspective reveals that not all conversational implicatures are strictly the products of inferential reasoning at the moment of utterance; many solidify into coded meanings that speakers recognize and use without active inference. Such findings reframe our understanding of pragmatics, emphasizing diachrony as a crucial dimension of semantic development.
Moreover, this model juxtaposes convention and context not as mutually exclusive or opposing forces, but as intertwined components in the evolution of meaning. Whereas traditional post-Gricean thought often views conventions as static and context as fluid, the DCPM emphasizes a directional process: meanings move from highly contextualized expressions to conventionalized codes. Contextually dependent PCIs, through repeated exposure and entrenchment, gradually lose their dependency on particular communicative settings and enter the conventional lexicon as GCIs. This reconceptualization eloquently resolves tensions between context and convention, situating both as essential to the full cycle of semantic change.
This interplay also highlights the complementary nature of diachronic and synchronic studies. While synchronic pragmatics focuses on the structure and use of meanings at a single point in time, diachronic approaches chart their emergence, evolution, and eventual codification. The DCPM offers a nec plus ultra framework for integrating these perspectives, showing how pragmatic meanings initially shaped by context can evolve into conventionally shared components of language. Consequently, the study not only deepens theoretical understanding but also carries practical implications for lexicographers, language educators, and computational linguists seeking to model semantic change.
By focusing on a concrete lexical item—hóngyǎn—and its array of pragmatic meanings, this research bridges abstract theoretical constructs and empirical linguistic data. It constructs a compelling narrative tracing how cognitive and social factors conspire over time to forge new semantic conventions from fluid conversational implicatures. In doing so, it underscores the profound plasticity of language and the subtle mechanisms that drive lexical innovation and standardization.
As the findings suggest, the process of entrenchment and conventionalization is far from uniform across meanings even within a single lexical domain. This variability reflects complex interactions between frequency, historical usage, cognitive salience, and social diffusion. Understanding these dynamics not only challenges simplistic models of meaning change but equips linguists with nuanced tools to track and predict the trajectories of evolving expressions.
Ultimately, this diachronic cognitive-pragmatic approach revitalizes debates surrounding conventionalization by embedding them in concrete empirical evidence and sophisticated theoretical modeling. It invites the linguistic community to reconsider the foundations of pragmatic meaning, highlighting the role of repeated usage, cognitive entrenchment, and social convention in shaping the living lexicon. Such insights herald a transformative shift that could reshape future research in pragmatics, semantics, and lexicography alike.
The implications extend even beyond linguistics. Recognizing how meanings codify through collective cognitive processes offers parallels for studies in cultural transmission, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence. As language remains the fundamental medium of human thought and communication, understanding its diachronic evolution is crucial to unraveling the deepest mysteries of meaning, mind, and society.
By illuminating how everyday conversational nuances crystallize into stable linguistic codes, this study charts a path toward a more integrative and empirically grounded pragmatics—one that honors both the fluidity of real-time communication and the solidity of communal knowledge. Its insights promise to ripple across disciplines, enriching our grasp of language’s dynamic life cycle in the human cognitive and social spheres.
Subject of Research:
The diachronic development of conversational implicatures and the process of entrenchment and conventionalization within post-Gricean pragmatic theory.
Article Title:
Conversational implicature: a diachronic cognitive pragmatic approach
Article References:
Su, R., Zhang, Y. Conversational implicature: a diachronic cognitive pragmatic approach.
Humanit Soc Sci Commun 12, 867 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05248-2
Image Credits: AI Generated
