The other route, known as non-lexical route, is relies on grammar and phonetics. It is used to pronounce words that we are not familiar with, or for non-words. One interesting phenomenon affecting how we understand spoken language is known as phonemic restoration effect. Because of this phenomenon, we are able to interpret parts of a sentence or word that we didn't hear clearly using the context in which that word is presented. Often, we have to make inferences to fill in the blanks of an incomplete sentence or idea.
Inferences can be of different kinds, depending on what information they are about.
Bridging inferences, on the other hand, make relations between information in different sentences. Inferences are vital in daily conversation. The inference is that this is a joke or exaggeration. Besides jokes and expressions, indirect requests need to be processed with inferences. In 1979, Searle suggested procedures for making inferences.