Grices Cooperative Principle, Maxims of Conversation

& Conversational Implicature

Objective: Given a short dialogue which makes use of the maxims, identify the maxim in play,
and explain your answer. If applicable, explain the implication created.
The Cooperative Principle
A basic underlying assumption we make when we speak to one another is that we are trying to
cooperate with one another to construct meaningful conversations. This assumption is known as
the Cooperative rinciple. As stated in !. . Grice"s #$ogic and Conversation% &'()*+,
-ake your conversational contribution such as is re.uired, at the stage at which it occurs,
by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged.
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In other words, we as speakers try to contribute meaningful, productive utterances to further the
conversation. It then follows that, as listeners, we assume that our conversational partners are
doing the same.
/ou can think of reasons why someone might be uncooperative in conversation &maybe
they"re being interrogated for information they don"t want to give up0 maybe they hate the
person they"re talking to0 maybe they"re 1ust cra2y+ but in the vast ma1ority of conversations, it"s
safe to assume that both participants are trying to be cooperative.
This assumption &that the cooperative principle holds, and the people we"re speaking to
are trying to cooperate+ explains two things,
&i+ why speech errors are often ignored &or even go unnoticed+ in conversation. As long as
the meaning the speaker is trying to get across is clear, the listener usually gives them the benefit
of the doubt and focuses on the meaning.
&ii+ why we can find meaning in statements which, on the surface, seem ridiculous, untrue
or unrelated &i.e. metaphors, sarcasm, overstatement, understatement, etc.+ 3ather than assuming
that our conversational partner is lying, cra2y, or speaking at random, we assume they"re trying
to get across some meaning, and we can figure out what that meaning is.
The Maxims of Conversation
Grice came up with the following maxims of conversation. &A #maxim% is kind of like a rule of
thumb. 4ut these rules aren"t nearly as hard and fast as the Cooperative rinciple, as we"ll see.+
Quantity
-ake your contribution as informative as re.uired. &5on"t say too much or
too little.+
-ake the strongest statement you can.
Quality
5o not say what you believe to be false.
5o not say that for which you lack ade.uate evidence.
Relation
4e relevant. &6tay on topic.+
Manner
Avoid obscurity of expression.
Avoid ambiguity.
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