Most people interpret the sentence "Can you pass me the butter?" to mean, "Please pass me the butter." This illustrates __________.
A) the fact that meaning and reference are not the same thing
B) the inability of an associationist theory to explain language
C) an example of conversational inference
D) our tendency to assign conceptual properties to language where there is none

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This is an example of conversational inference, where the listener infers the intended meaning of the phrase based on context and shared knowledge. The literal meaning of the sentence is a question, but the speaker intends it as a request.

Most People Interpret the Sentence "Can You Pass Me the Butter