The trait of linguistic literalism would have to be a part of the carnivore-species mindset.
It is common for humans with autism-spectrum-disorders to be literal and pedantic, which is to say that if someone uses the wrong word when speaking to them, they will respond as if the speaker actually meant the word they said, with the result that they will either respond inappropriately (acting on what they were told, rather than what a neurotypical human would have known that the speaker meant), or will question the speaker ("How can I put water in your elephant when you don't own an elephant?" in response to the speaker holding out a glass and asking, "Can you put some water in my elephant, please?", having just seen a drinking elephant on the nearby television).
This would be 'just the way the carnivore species evolved'. The most likely explanation would be that when hunting in groups in their prehistory, the prey was also sufficiently intelligent that any individual's mistakes meant that the prey would escape and the pack would go hungry. In such situations, precision of language would become imperative, and there would be no room for ambiguity or nuance. This would carry over into their social lives too.
A species with the trait of linguistic literalism might be expected to have no sense of humour when applied to jokes. Humour arises when there is an ambiguity in a phrase that can be parsed in an unexpected way. This is not to say that such a species wouldn't be able to appreciate situational humour, just that you couldn't make them laugh by telling a joke. Bring on the pratfalls...
Our linguistically literal species could also be expected to be open and forward when it comes to mating, however they do it. If verbal communication has anything to do with it, they'll just come straight out and express admiration and a desire to mate with the person with whom they are speaking. The response may be positive, neutral or negative, but will be similarly forthright.
A side effect of this forthrightness would be that the carnivores would actually be a very calm, unflappable species. Any individuals that had a tendency to become agitated when insulted would be at a distinct evolutionary disadvantage, so we can expect the carnivores to be totally unfazed by insults. They may recognise that they're being insulted, but it would be like water off a duck's back:
"Oh, the ape is pointing out my faults again. That is very boring."
Yawn.
Or, a conversation between two down-and-out carnivores:
"You are a vaguely attractive female carnivore, I want to mate with
you."
"Never, your genitals are diseased and pustulent."
"Oh, yes, thank you for bringing that to my attention, I must do
something about that some day. I thought that given that you are not
as attractive as many other females, you might overlook my illness."
"I may only be slightly attractive, but I'm not that desperate to be
impregnated that I'd risk catching your pox."
"Oh, well, have a nice day."
"You have a nice day too."
Conversely, the excitable, emotional apes may be continuously nonplussed and outraged by the carnivores' forthrightness and honesty, but given that under normal circumstances, a carnivore could probably casually dismantle a physically obstreperous ape, physical attacks would be suicidal, and verbal counterattacks would be pointless, save as an emotional outlet for the ape.
As an example, an ape bumps into a carnivore:
Ape: "Watch where you're going, you overgrown furball!"
Carnivore: "I was watching my path, while you were inattentive
since you were preoccupied in your observation of that female ape with
the large mammary glands, and struck me. For your information, I am
of average size and my fur is of average length."
A: "Go climb a tree, you bloody stupid kitty-cat!"
C: "The trees hereabouts would not support my weight, and my task today
precludes my taking the time to make the attempt. Perhaps you need to
attend a zoology class, since you seem incapable of distinguishing
between a member of my species and a domestic cat. Additionally, my
fur is clean and my intellect is equivalent to your own, these being
points that a zoology class would also clarify for you."
A: "Oh, get your worthless carcase outta my way! You make me wanna
puke!"
C: "I do not have any food with me, let alone any of no value, so how can
there be valueless food obstructing your path? Please tell me, how am
I inducing the desire to vomit in you, so that I can attempt to
mitigate the effect?"
A: "I'm gonna bust your chops for ya, pal, if you don't get outta my
way!"
C: "I have told you that I do not have any food here. How could you
break that which I am not carrying? Additionally, I am not your friend."
A: "Aagh! Get outta my way or I'll punch your teeth in!"
C, Moving aside: "There is no need to become agitated. Please refrain
from physical violence, since if you attack me, my defensive actions
will most likely leave you severely injured."
A: "Oh, piss off!" Begins to leave.
C: "Urination in this location is contrary to customarily accepted social
conventions, sir!"
A: "Stuff you, you..." The ape's language devolves into profanity
unsuitable for a public forum such as WB.SE.
C: "Please moderate your profanity lest you receive a citation for
breach of your species' regulations concerning such utterances. I
observe a law-enforcement officer approaching his auditory range of
you."
