Irregular negative conventions

Abstract

We observed in Chap. 1 that at least some irregular negations are used to deny an implicature of their root. We will show in this chapter that all logically irregular negations are used similarly, and that different kinds of irregular negations deny different kinds of implicatures. This rule extends to irregular contraries but not irregular contradictories, which have different rules. We will also see that some implicatures cannot be denied by an irregular negative. Irregular negations and contraries exist because of three levels of linguistic convention.