Social:R-Principle

In the Neo-Gricean approach to semantics and pragmatics advanced by Yale linguist Laurence Horn, the R-Principle ("R" for "Relation") is a reformulation of Paul Grice's Maxim of Relation (see Gricean maxims) combining with the second sub-maxim of Quantity and the third and fourth sub-maxims of Manner. The R-Principle states: "Say no more than you must (given Q)." As such it interacts with the Q-principle, which states: "Say as much as you can (given R)." According to the R-Principle, there is no reason to make a stronger statement (say more) if the extra information can be contributed by implicature. For instance, the inference from "He broke a finger" to "He broke a finger of his own" is an R-based inference, i.e. deriving from the R-Principle, since the economy of expression implies that a more informative statement was not needed.