Lecture 1 Fundamentals of grammar

the Cooperative principle does not mean that there is invariably a breakdown
of communication. There may appear to be the apparent breaking of a maxim to
the analyst, whereas the interactants may feel that the cooperative principle in
general, or even the maxim itself, has not been broken. The breaking of a maxim
may also involve some kind of trade-off, where one breaks a maxim in order to
uphold another maxim, the latter of which may be more important in the
communicative situation than the former.
It should be pointed out that the maxims suggested by Grice are not the only
ones. Grice recognizes existence of other maxims as well: “There are, of course, all
sorts of other maxims (aesthetic, social, or moral in character), such as “Be polite,”
that are also normally observed by participants in talk exchanges, and these may
also generate nonconventional implicatures” (Grice 1989:28)
Grice’s research was further developed by Western scholars who worked out
some “new” maxims: Do not contradict yourself without explanation (Stewart
1983), Prepare for conversation (St George 1987), Speak idiomatically unless there
is some special reason not to (Searle 1979), Do not request what you do not want
(Harnish 1976), Do not mislead (Corliss 1981), etc., etc.
3. The Politeness principle and Leech’s maxims
G. Leech was the father of the social-pragmatics approach to Grice’s
research. He worked on “a broader, socially and psychologically oriented
application of pragmatic principles” (Leech 1983:80). G. Leech (1983) proposed
the six maxims of the Politeness Principle (PP) as a way of complementing the
CP and explaining how politeness operates in conversational exchanges. Leech
defines politeness as forms of behaviour that establish and maintain comity.
That is the ability of participants in a social interaction to engage in interaction in
an atmosphere of relative harmony. In stating his maxims Leech uses his own
terms for two kinds of illocutionary acts. He calls representatives “assertives”, and
calls directives “impositives”.
− Tact maxim (in directives [impositives] and commissives): minimise cost to
other; [maximise benefit to other]
eg. Help yourself once more. and rather not I will help yourself once more.
− Generosity maxim (in directives and commissives): minimise benefit to self;
[maximise cost to self]
e.g. Have you something against a cup of tee? and rather not I have nothing
against a cup of tea.
− Approbation maxim (in expressives and representatives [assertives]):
minimise dispraise of other; [maximise praise of other]
e.g. The soup you cooked tastes good. and not The soup you cooked is inedible.
− Modesty maxim (in expressives and representatives): minimise praise of
self; [maximise dispraise of self]
e.g. It was silly of me. not It was silly of you.
− Agreement maxim (in representatives): minimise disagreement between self
and other; [maximize agreement between self and other]
e.g. I really liked the exhibition. – Yes, it was quite interesting. Not I found it
very boring.
− Sympathy maxim (in representatives): minimise antipathy between self and
other; [maximize sympathy between self and other]
e.g. I am sorry to hear that your cat died. Not I am glad to hear that your cat
died.
Each maxim is accompanied by a sub-maxim (between square brackets),
which is of less importance. These support the idea that negative politeness
(avoidance of discord) is more important than positive politeness (seeking
concord).
Note also that speakers may adhere to more than one maxim of politeness at
the same time. Often one maxim is on the forefront of the utterance, with a second
maxim being invoked by implication.
Not all of the maxims are equally important. For instance, "Tact" influences
what we say more powerfully than does "Generosity", while "Approbation" is
more important than "Modesty”.
The tact maxim regulates the operation of the directive speech acts (which
are marked with highest face-threatening potential) and addresses the dominant
type of politeness which, with regard to the addressee, can be ´measured´ on the