Indirect language comprehension requires decoding both the literal meaning and the
intended meaning of an utterance, in which pragmatic inference is involved. This study tests
the role of conventionality in the time course of indirect reply processing by comparing
conventional and non-conventional indirect replies with direct reply, respectively. We
constructed discourses which consist of a context and a dialogue with one question (eg, May
I buy a necklace for you) and one reply (eg, I really have too many). The reply utterance was …