Lecture 1 Fundamentals of grammar

participates in discussions in seminars.
Yours sincerely,
Prof. Bonebreak
This letter does not contribute the correct amount of information [thus
violating the Maxim of Quantity], which allows the inference that there is a reason
why the correct amount of information is not being provided, namely that to do so
would involve saying negative things about the recommendee.
According to Grice, the maxims are learned guidelines for social interaction.
“It is just a well-recognized empirical fact that people do behave in these ways [i.e.
in ways that the maxims prescribe]; they learned to do so in childhood, and have
not lost the habit of doing so” (Grice 1989:29).
Grice does not of course prescribe the use of such maxims. Nor does he
suggest that we use them to construct conversations. But they are useful for
analysing and interpreting conversation, and may reveal purposes of which (either
as speaker or listener) we were not previously aware. Although presupposed to be
adhered to by the participants, the maxims are often deliberately broken. Very
often, we communicate particular non-literal meanings by appearing to "violate" or
"flout" these maxims.
If we VIOLATE the maxims, it means that we break them surreptitiously, or
covertly, so that other people do not know. If we violate the maxim of quality, we
lie. If we violate the maxim of quantity by not giving enough information, if
someone finds out we can be accused of 'being economical with the truth', another
deceit. As with laws, some maxim violations can be more heinous than others.
Lying in a court of law is disapproved, but 'white lies', small lies to keep the social
peace, are often thought as acceptable.
If we FLOUT a maxim, we break it in a flagrant (and often foregrounded)
way, so that it is obvious to all concerned that it has been broken. If this happens,
then it is clear that the speaker is intending the hearer to infer some extra meaning
over and above what is said. Maxims can be flouted, e.g., in phatic or small talk
(quantity), ´white lies´ (quality), humour, irony, teasing, banter, puns (manner),
topic shift, seemingly irrelevant remarks whose relevance is implied and may only
be disclosed by inference (relation). Some tropes (figures of speech) are built on
the breach of CP: hyperbole (exaggeration: to wait an eternity), litotes
(understatement, esp. that in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of
its contrary: not bad at all), tautology (repetition: War is war, and there will be losers), paraphrase, euphemism, metaphor and esp. irony (conveys a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning: How nice! said after someone´s I failed another exam).
It should be made very clear here that breaking of any of the maxims of