1

Presented to: Prof Dr Sarwet Rasul

Presented by: Asma Iqbal Kayani
M.Phil in Linguistics , Semester II
NCBA&E,
Gujrat.

Humor is mankinds greatest

blessing.
( Mark
twin)

Table of contents

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
2.1. what is a sitcom?
2.2. what is humor?
2.3. What is Bulbulay?
2.4. What is cooperative principle?
3. Politeness
3.1. origins
3.2. two notions
3.3. perspectives
3.3.1. social norm view
3.3.2. conversational maxim view
3.3.3.conversational contract view
3.3.4. Brown and Levinson's Face-Saving View
4. Sample for research
5. Aim and objectives of the study
6. Framework
7. Clippings & Analysis of dialogues
8. Findings
9. Conclusion
10. References

Abstract
This work is a humor study within the framework of an
important pragmatic theory of cooperative principle by Grice
using three dialogues in the Bulbulay ,a Pakistani sitcom ,as
a case study .An attempt is made to find out that how by
observing or violating the Grecian maxims the element of
humor is brought into a dialogue and how sitcoms are
utilizing this phenomena to win the laughter and applause of
the viewers . The cooperative principle proposes four maxims
in communication. When any of the four maxims is violated
or flouted, misunderstanding or implicature , and thus humor
might be generated. In addition to it The rhetorical
techniques of humor by Berger (1995) ,some of them are
also used as a framework to study humor in this sitcom . A
try is made to see pragmatically and rhetorically both that
how these are working to create humor and with what effect.
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Introduction

A Situation comedy(sitcom) is a form of TV series, with

each episode having fixed actors (actresses) and similar daily
scenes. Program creator and director resets the characters,
locations, and time of every new episode of each week. From
1940s till now, sitcoms have been popular all over the world.
The dialogue of sitcom often shows contradiction with the
environment, action and common sense and hence generates
humor.

Humor, especially verbal humor is the most important

feature of sitcoms and also the main mechanism to proceed. As
time goes by, this characteristic of sitcoms has not changed.
humor is specifically divided into visual humor(by pictures and
actions), and verbal humor(through funny utterances/dialogue)

Since the 90s, comedy in Pakistan has lost its place to

some extent in Pakistani television. The lack of quality
comedians, writers and directors have led to a serious lack of
good, quality sitcoms, which families can watch together and
roar with laughter. One can count the number of classy,
humorous shows produced in the last decade. Most of them are
6
limited to politics and the current situation of the country.

 Bulbulay is a unique sitcom by ARY, The show revolves

around a family of four eccentric people:
Momo (Hina Dilpazir):Nabeels mother

Mehmood Sahab (Mehmood Aslam):momos second

husband
Nabeel (Nabeel): jobless and Khoobsurats husband

Khoobsurat (Ayesha Omar).

The house is supported by Khoobsurat s rich father. Every

episode the household encounters a new crazy situation
and comes up with even crazier solutions to get out of it.
The humor is created through catchy jingle ,brilliant actors
with their perfect expressions and timely dialogue delivery.
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H.P. Grices Cooperative Principle and

conversational maxims
Grice believes that there is a set of assumptions guiding the
conduct of conversation, and these assumptions may be
formulated as guidelines for efficient and effective use of
language.
The CP by Grice:
Make your contribution such as required, at the stage at which it
occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange
in which you are engaged. (Grice,1975:45)
Four maxims :
1. Quantity: make your contribution as informative as is required
(for the current purpose of the exchange). Do not make your
contribution more informative than is required.
2. Quality: Do not say what you believe to be false. Do not say that
for which you lack adequate evidence.
3. Relation: Be relevant.
4.Manner: Avoid obscurity of expression Avoid ambiguity Be brief
(avoid unnecessary prolixity). Be orderly.
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 According to Grice (1989:29) it is, however, important to

understand that the maxims are not supposed to describe how

people actually talk, they merely attempt to describe a type of
conversational practice that is often reasonable for us to follow.
Exceptions naturally occur when ones aim is, for example, to lie, or
to tell a joke or a story.
The maxims help us to get from what is said to what is meant, from
the level of expressed meaning to the level of implied meaning.
Thomas (1995:63) adds that according to Grice without the
assumption of the CP (cooperative principle) there is no
mechanism to prompt someone to seek for another level of
interpretation.
Attardo (1994) discusses jokes and humor in the light of Grices
Cooperative Principle. He argues that it is established that a large
number of jokes present a violation of one of the four maxims
composing the CP . Grice himself, who also considered irony as an
example of implicature, was the first to propose that jokes violate
the maxims
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 Classification of nonobservances of maxims:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

people sometime fail to observe the maxims, whether by

choice or not. Grice classified these non-observances into
five groups:
flouting a maxim(to create an implicature )
violating a maxim ( intentionally to deceive)
infringing a maxim (imperfect linguistic performance by
children/foreigners)
opting out a maxim,(unwillingness to cooperate)
suspending a maxim(in funeral orations , poetry , telegrams
, jokes)

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The rhetorical techniques of humor

In the analysis of humor, Berger (1995) suggests a

rhetorical perspective and gives a list of 45 techniques out

of which following two techniques will be utilized to analyze
the present work data.

1.The techniques like exaggeration ,insult, puns and

wordplay ,and misunderstanding are Language based

techniques of humor
2. The techniques like ignorance , mistakes and
repetitions are logic based techniques of humor

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Origin of politeness

Historically, traces of the English term polite

can be found in the 15thcentury. Etymologically it
derives from late Medieval Latinpolitusmeaning
smoothed and accomplished. The term 'polite'
was synonymous with concepts such as refined,
polished when people were concerned. In the
seventeen century a polite person was defined as
one of refined courteous manners.

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Two notions of politeness

1. first-order politeness ways in which polite behavior is perceived
and talked about by members of socio-cultural groups
(i) Expressive first-order politeness is the polite intention that the
speakers manifest through speech. The use of politeness markers
such as please, and such conventional formulaic expressions as
thank you are instances of expressive first-order politeness.
(ii) Classificatory first-order politeness involves the classification of
behaviors as polite and impolite based on the addressee's
evaluation.
(iii) Meta pragmatic first-order politeness, that is, the way people
think of politeness and the way it is conceptualized in various
interactional contexts.
2. second-order politeness is a theoretical construct, a term within a
theory of social behavior and language usage.
(i) it attempts to develop a scientific theory of politeness.
(ii) it can elaborate the functions of politeness in interaction and
provide the criteria by which im/polite behavior is distinguished.
(ii) It can also present universal characteristics of politeness in
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different communities.

perspectives on the treatment of

politeness
1. The social norm view:

politeness is seen as arising from an awareness of ones

social obligations to the other members of the group to
which one owes primary allegiance.
It can be a type of politeness called discernment i.e. the
practice of polite behavior according to social conventions
the social norm view consists of two factors:
(i) Status conscious behavior which is realized by showing
deference and respect to others social rank.
(ii) Moral components and decency which involves a concern
for general human dignity

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2. The conversational maxim view:

(i) Grices Cooperative Principle

(ii) Lakoff's two Rules of Politeness

Grices maxims

be polite
1) Dont impose(distance and formality)
2) Give options (hesitancy)
3) Make a feel good be friendly (equality)

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be clear

iii)Leech's Politeness Principle and Maxims of Interaction

For him politeness is a facilitating factor that influences the
relation between self, by which Leech means the speaker,
and other that is the addressee and/or a third party.
(I) TACT MAXIM (in impositives and commissives)
Minimize cost toother & Maximize benefit toother]
(II) GENEROSITY MAXIM (in impositives and commissives)
Minimize benefit toself & Maximize cost toself]
(III) APPROBATION MAXIM (in expressives and assertives)
Minimize dispraise ofother & Maximize praise ofother]
(IV) MODESTY MAXIM (in expressives and assertives)
Minimize praise ofself & Maximize dispraise ofself]
(V) AGREEMENT MAXIM (in assertives)
Minimize disagreement betweenselfandother & Maximize
agreement betweenselftoother
(VI) SYMPATHY MAXIM (in expressive)
Minimize antipathy betweenselfandother & Maximize sympathy
betweenselfandother

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3.The Conversational-Contract View

It means entering into a conversation, each party brings an

understanding of some initial set of rights and obligations that

will determine, at least for preliminary stages, what the
participants can expect from the others
These rights are based on parties social relationships and
during the process of interaction there is always the possibility
for parties to renegotiate the initial rights and obligations on
which the parties have agreed.
So politeness is getting on with the task at hand in light of
the terms and conditions of the CC.
This view is similar to Social Norm view in that politeness
involves conforming to socially agreed codes of good behavior.
It is different from Social Norm view because in ConversationalContract view the rights and obligations are negotiable.

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4. Brown and Levinson's Face-Saving View

Brown and Levinsons work consists of two parts:
(a)fundamental theory concerning the nature of politeness and
how it functions in interaction.
Brown and Levinson introduce the notion of face i.e. the self
image of a person in a social context
interactants have an interest in maintaining two types of face
during interaction:
positive face is the positive and consistent image people have
of themselves, and their desire for approval.
negative face is the basic claim to territories, personal
preserves, and rights to non-distraction

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(b)The second part is a list of politeness strategies :

politeness is regarded as having a dual nature:
Positive politeness is expressed by satisfying positive face in two
ways:
1) by indicating similarities amongst interactants;
2) by expressing an appreciation of the interlocutors selfimage.
Negative politeness can also be expressed in two ways:
1) by saving the interlocutors face (either negative or
positive) by
mitigating face threatening acts such as
advice-giving and disapproval;
2) by satisfying negative face by indicating respect for the
addressees right not to be imposed on.

In short, politeness is expressed not only to minimize FTAs, but

also to satisfy the interactants face regardless of whether an FTA
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occurs or not.

Data
for the
present
Three dialogues from
Data:
Bulbulay
Sitcom Drama:
research
243
Episode no.:
Year of

:
Presented by:
Recording:

2013
ARY Digital (Pak)
You Tube

Selected dialogues
Dialogue 1: between Momo and abba g(on Phone)
Dialogue 2: between Momo , Nabeel and Mehmood (face to

face)
Dialogue 3: between nabeel , Mehmood and abba g(face to
face)
1

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Aim of the study

The aim of this study is to analyze verbal humor in a TV-sitcom

from
two perspectives: pragmatic and rhetorical.

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Objectives of the study

Objectives of this study are to find out :

i. Are the maxims of conversation violated to create humour?

ii. If they are violated, then how and by whom?
iii. Does observation of these maxims also result in humor ?
iv. Which maxims are mostly violated and why?
v. What is the impact of observing or violating the maxims ?
vi. What kinds of rhetorical techniques are used to create
humour?

How are they used and by whom?

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Framework of the study

The theoretical tools or frameworks employed in this
study to analyze humor are:
Grices(1975) theory of cooperative principle(Four
maxims)
Berger(1995) theory of rhetorical techniques of
humor(related to language and logic)
Two separate methods are tried to use because verbal
humor is not the result of only the violation of
maxims alone.
The pragmatic strategy used in this study is based
on the claim that acts of verbal humor violate Grices
Cooperative Principle and the four maxims of
conversation: maxims of Quality, Quantity,
Relevance and Manner.
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 The rhetorical strategy, on the other hand, stems from an

inventory of rhetorical techniques of humour introduced by

Berger (1990). Berger has divided the techniques into four
categories: language, logic, identity and visually based
techniques. The ones that will be taken into account in the
present study are language and logic, because they all can
be expressed through language and can thus create verbal
humour

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Limitation of The Study

The present study limits its data from one selected

Pakistani TV sitcom Bulbulay and is taking three

dialogues from its episode # 243 to analyze verbal humor.
Two frameworks pragmatic and the rhetorical devices by
Berger are used to find out working of humor.
Within politeness theoretical framework it is the cooperative
principle with maxims by Grice that is applied and within
Bergers framework rhetorical devices related to linguistics
and logic are utilized to analyze the verbal humor.

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Clipping dialogue
#1(Momo& her Abba g)

clip1.wlmp

26

Dialogue # 1(Between momo and her abba g on

Momo
: hello
telephone)

Aba g :hello
Momo : hello , hello g
Aba g: o bi hello
Momo: o bi ap kon hain or kan sa aur kio bol rahay hain?(three questions)
Aba g: ma tera aba g bol raha hn
(answer 1)
Momo: abba g? hay ap kahan hain aba g?
Aba g:ma station sa bol raha hn.
(answer 2)
Momo: Ap station sa kio bol rahay hain aba g?
Aba g :Oye ma station per khara hn
Momo: Tou ap kahan ja rahay hain aba g?
Aba g :Oye ma ja nai raha ma a raha hn.
Momo: Han tou kahan sa a rahay hain ap?
Aba g :Oye ma gar a raha hn
(answer 3)
Momo: Thek ha aba g gar pohanch ker na phupo sa meri bat karveay ga .ok.
Aba g :Oye meri magror bachi ma teray gar a raha hn.
Momo: Hain tou phir ap station per kio kharay hain.hmaray gar tou koi train
nai ati.
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Aba g :Phone rakh ma rikshay ma bhait ker a raha hn

Momo : hello
Aba g :hello
Observing maxims but the style and way of uttering this is
cause of
Laughter and humor.
Momo : hello , hello g
Aba g: o bi hello
Repetition of hello is source of humor and o bi by abba
g is a way of insult and a show of being fed up.

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Analysis of dialogue # 1
Momo: o bi ap kon hain or kahan sa aur kio bol rahay hain?
Aba g: ma tera aba g bol raha hn
Three things are asked but only one question is replied
that is true , relevant and clear but other two questions
arent replied so quantity maxim is not observed. So it
does have humorous effect which results in extended
dialogue.
Momo: abba g!hy ap kahan hain aba g?
Aba g:ma station sa bol raha hn.
Though all maxims are observed but it creates humor as
the 2nd speaker is just answering the question on its literal
level only and doesnt tell about purpose of being there
and that leads to more questions by the 1 st speaker and
in this way dialogue gets extended and humorous.
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Momo: Ap station sa kio bol rahay hain aba g?

Abba g:Oye ma station per khara hn
Both relevance and quantity maxims are not observed as the
answer is not providing the required information and that is
creating humor as in context expected answer is main
tmharay gar a raha hn but here the answer means oye wahan
khara hn is liay tou wahan sa bol raha hn) that is humorous
Mom: Tou ap kahan ja rahay hain aba g?
Abba g:Oye ma ja nai raha ma a raha hn.
Again relevance maxim is not observed as the anwer is not
relevant to the question . It creates humor.
non observation of quantity maxim is also creating humor as
in context expected answer is main tmharay gar a raha hn

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Momo: Han tou kahan sa a rahay hain ap?

Abba g: Oye ma gar a raha hn.
non observation of quantity maxim is creating humor as in
answer the word gar is not providing complete
information(it should have been tumharay gar)
As it is ambiguous reply so it is also not observing the
manner maxim also and due to it next dialogue comes which
again is a source of humor.
Momo: Thek ha aba g gar pohanch ker na phupo sa meri bat
karveay ga .ok.
Abba g: Oye meri magror bachi ma teray gar a raha hn.
The response is irrelevant as far as the request by momo is
concerned so maxim of relevance is violated . but in the
whole scenario it is making sense if we follow what has been
there in past lines.
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 Momo: Hain tou phir ap station per kio kharay hain.hmaray

gar tou koi train nai ati.

Abba g: Phone rakh ma rikshay ma bhait ker a raha hn

Maxim of relevance is not observed as the question is an

inquiry but in reply there is no answer for it but instead it
informs about coming to home.
So finally Momo gets answers to her three questions but
step by step because of non observation of the maxims
which makes this dialogue the humorous one as a part of a
whole sitcom Bulbulay

32

Findings from dialogue #1 in the light of

objectives of the study
(i)Are the maxims of conversation violated to create humour?
yes
(ii) If they are violated, then how and by whom?
sometimes individual violation but some times two maxims are
violated at the same time . The main character momo is the cause
of violation which results in further violations.
(iii) Does observation of these maxims also result in humor ?
Yes , when words are taken in literal sense ,and to the point and
only relevant replies appear, then this observance too creates
humor.
(iv) Which maxims are mostly violated and why?
It is the Quantity maxim that is violated most of the time ,
sometimes alone and sometimes with manner or relevance
maxim.
it is violated by providing less than required information.
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CONT.
it is violated by providing less than required information.
(v) What is the impact of observing or violating the
maxims ?
It makes the situation funny and results in humor and extension
of
dialogue.
(vi) What kinds of rhetorical techniques are used to
create humour? How are they used and by whom?
i. Technique of Insult by abba g
ii. Misunderstanding between both characters
iii. Wordplay(like station , gar)
iv. Repetitions:( like hello , abba g)
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Clipping dialogue # 2

clip2.wlmp
35

dialogue # 2
Momo:
Aba g..
Mehmood: aray ma tumhara aba nai shohar hn
Momo:
Oye , meray aba g.
Mehmood: Aray kia hva ha? (question )
Momo:
Abba g
Mehmood: Aray kia hva ha aba g ko?(question repeated)
Momo:
Aba g----Nabeel:
Nana abbu
Mehmood: Aray hva kia ha yar? (question repeated)
Nabeel:
O yar mehmood sb meri man ki halat daik ker be ap poch rahay
hain k kia hva..o meray nana abu mer gay, mer gay, mer gay..ab
kia hoga?
Momo:
Teray moun ma nak
Mehmood: Hak
Momo:
Han teri nak ma hak.aba g maray nai hain
Nabeel:
Han mehmood sb meray nana abu maray nai hain zahmi hvay
hain
36

Momo:
Oye habardar jo meray aba g k baray ma kahen
wo kia
tou
Mehmood: Wo kia
Momo:
Wohi jo ulti hoti ha
Mehmood: Hy hy, kaisi gandi batain kar rai ho momo tum
Momo:
Han batain ,nai nai bat , oye habardar jo meray aba
gk
baray ma kisi na koi galat bat ki ho
Nabeel:
Tou ap ro kio rai the? (question repeated)
Momo:
Husi main
Nabeel:
Hain
Momo:
Han putar teray nana abu a rahay hain(answer to
question)
37

Analysis of dialogue # 2

Momo:
Aba g..
maxim of Quantity is not observed as less information is
provided ,and at the same time manner is too flouted as just
uttering abba g is creating ambiguity
So humor is created because audience know the background
situation and characters unaware of it say following lines
that create humor for the audience
Mehmood: aray ma tumhara aba nai shohar hn
humor is created because the person doesnt get the real
person to whom she is referring to but his expectations
about the following of maxims by others create humor and
he taunts her for calling him her aba g
Momo:
Oye , meray aba g.
Maxim of relevance is not observed as the expected answer to
the previous line was to give an explanation but she repeats
by adding meray that clears the situation to whom she is
38
referring to

Mehmood: Aray kia hva ha?

A direct question that observes all maxims but the tone and
situation make it humorous still
Momo:
Abba g
Again quantity and manner maxims violated. maxim of relevance is
also not observed as there is no answer to the asked question.
Mehmood: Aray hva kia ha yar?
Again question but aray and yar indicate his curiosity and comment
on not getting the exact answer. So funny situation is that one is in
need of knowing the real situation but the other is just uttering
ambiguous words
Nabeel:
O yar mehmood sb meri man ki halat daik ker be ap
poch rahay hain k kia hva..o meray nana abu mer gay, mer gay,
mer gay..ab kia hoga?
Quality maxim is not observed as character is supposing on his
own behalf the matter without any confirmation. the audience roars
with laughter as they know the reality . Moreover, the repetition of
certain phrase mer gay is also a source of laughter. Last line ab
kia ho ga is uttered to show his concern about the tragic
seriousness of the situation and to sympathize with his mother but
that will be taken how by Momo is very humorous.
39

Momo:
Teray moun ma nak
Maxim of Manner is flouted as moun ma nak is unclear term and it
amuses the viewer a lot as Momo is a typical character whose
use of such ambiguous wording is a routine source of humor
Mehmood: Hak
(Quantity maxim is flouted as he doesnt say teray moun ma hak
to correct her, just as in routine in each dialogue he corrects her
by giving the right word only)
Momo:
Han teri nak ma hak.aba g maray nai hain
As usual she accepts the right word and corrects her by putting
it in
wrong order and again produces a funny dialogue. In her second
utterance she corrects Nabeel but still she hasnt answered the
question put by Mahmood about what happened to her abba g .
so quantity maxim is not observed here.
40

Nabeel:
Han mehmood sb meray nana abu maray nai hain
zahmi
hvay hain
(Nabeels second try to guess is again a violation of the maxim
of quality as he has no authentic proof to say that and
audience again smile on his expected insult by momo)
Momo:
Oye habardar jo meray aba g k baray ma kahen
wo kia
tou
(maxim of manner is flouted as her wo is unclear but
audience know mehmood will be there to find it out for
them so more humor is expected)
Mehmood: Wo kia?
Observing the maxims but way of asking makes it comic)
Momo:
Wohi jo ulti hoti ha
41
Again non observance of manner as unclear it is.

Mehmood: Hy hy, kaisi gandi batain kar rai ho momo tum

(Momos use of certain double meaning words creates
misunderstanding and that is cause of humor too. here too
mehmood is creating such situation)
Momo:
Han batain ,nai nai bat , oye habardar jo meray aba
gk
baray ma kisi na koi galat bat ki ho
Momo gets the word from mehmoods utterance and
completes her message now that is nonobservance of
manner maxim
Nabeel:
Tou ap ro kio rai the?
Instead of excusing in response or promising not to say bad
about her father he doesnt observe relevance maxim in
immediate context but in broader context of the dialogue
,he puts a direct question and observes maxims of manner ,
quality and relevance.

42

Momo:
Husi main
(Non observance of quantity and manner maxim as complete
answer is not given yet)
Nabeel:
Hain
(maxim of quantity and manner is flouted as instead of
asking kaisi husi his expression shows surprise on her
weeping and also in a sense a request to tell the reason)
Momo:
Han putar teray nana abu a rahay hain
Finally at the end of dialogue the initial question asked by
Mehmood is responded .here she is observing the quality
and quantity maxims but it is still creating humor.

43

Findings from dialogue #2 in the light

of objectives of the study
(i)Are the maxims of conversation violated to create humour?
yes
(ii) If they are violated, then how and by whom?
sometimes individual violation but some times two maxims are
violated at the same time . The main character momo is the
cause of violation which results in further violations . mehmood
and nabeel too violate certain maxims.
(iii) Does observation of these maxims also result in humor ?
Yes , when dialogues and utterances are taken in literal sense (as
mehmood takes momos aba g addressed to him),that creates
misunderstandings, then this observance and expectation of the
observance by some characters too creates humor.
(iv) Which maxims are mostly violated and why?
It is the Quality maxim that is violated the most in this dialogue
(as nabeel without confirmation announces the death or injury of
his nana abu)
44

Quantity maxim is too violated by momo when she provides less

than needed information and that results in unclear terms and
ambiguity which surely leads to violation of manner maxim.
(v) What is the impact of observing or violating the maxims
?
It makes the situation funny and results in humor and extension of
dialogue. It leads to certain misunderstandings also.
(vi) What kinds of rhetorical techniques are used to create
humour? How are they used and by whom?
i. Technique of repetition by momo(aba g, meray aba g)
ii. Technique of repetition by Nabeel(mer gay , mer gay , mer gay)
iii.Misunderstanding between characters
iv.Wordplay(like hak , nak)
v. Insult and threat ( momo to Nabeel oye habardar)

45

Clipping dialogue # 3

clip3.wlmp

46

Dialogue # 3 between Nabeel

,Nana abu and Mehmood
Nabeel:
O nana abu ap na roza kio nai rakha?
Nana abu: La vae rozay sa yad aya aik dafa na ma rozay main
dangal larya
Mehmood: Apka roza tha?
Nana abu : O nai oye mera nai dojay pehlwan ka roza tha
Nabeel:
Phirrr
Nana abu: Puttar mosam bara acha tha ,haliki halki thand thi
,bray waday medan ma pora pind he akhata tha
Mehmood: Phir kia hva aba g?
Nana abu: Ma apnay scooter tu utarya ,samnay wala pehlwan
apni cycle tu utarya. unhain apnay jism tay mitti mali ay
Nabeel:
Hainn
Nana abu: Tay main fir gusay witch a gea ma mitti mali nai
Mehmood: Ap na moun per mal li
47

 Nana abu: La vae ma unho ainj ker k sher di akh nal vekhea

tay
unain menu billi di akh nal vekhea
Nabeel:
Nana abu wo sath billi b laya tha
Nana abu: (talking to nabeel)O chup ker oye, (referring to
mehmood who has t his taken head in his
hands)o kina
jhom ria ay.mazadar wakea hovay
tay bohat he mazay
anday na samnay walay
nu..fir ma pae kori,ma unho kori
paye tay o do kadam
pechay hatya,ma akhea o gina
marzi pechay
hatt,main tenu nai chadna,ma unhon ainj
ker k
phutti ker k maran lae agay wadea ,utu magrib oye
ha, o apnay gar wal nathea,tay lo vae dangal aik wari fir
cancell.

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Nabeel:
O nana abu ap na roza kio nai rakha?
(observing maxims as it is a direct question but it is humorous
because of o used by Nabeel as it shows he is tired of his nana
abu)
Nana abu:
La vae rozay sa yad aya aik dafa na ma rozay main
dangal larya
(Non observance of relevance maxim as the question asked is not
replied .manner maxim is also violated as its ambiguous razay
ma kon tha. Quantity maxim is too violated as full information
is not provided that results in following inquiry by mehmood )
Mehmood: Apka roza tha?
(instead of saying phir to let nana abu continue with his narration he
asks a question but there is irony in his tone that appears to be
saying ap aur roza that creates humor. Both manner and
relevance are violated)
Nana abu : O nai oye mera nai dojay pehlwan ka roza tha
Quality maxim is observed but Quantity isnt observed as more
than required is said. Just nai was enough but he tells k dojay
pehalwan ka tha.

Phirrr
Nabeel:
( a link word used to respond and give feedback but at the same time

ironic and humorous in the sense that they are bored and listening
to him just to please him. So tone and the way the utterance is
performed in the context is humorous)
Nana abu: Puttar mosam bara acha tha ,haliki halki thand thi
,bray waday medan ma pora pind he akhata tha
(instead of coming to the point directly he is giving details that is a
violation of quantity maxim and element of exaggeration can also
be noticed as a rhetorical technique here creating humor . maxim of
manner is also violated as he isnt brief)
Mehmood: Phir kia hva aba g?
Violation of relevance as instead of applauding or commenting on
that all he asks another question to reach to the end of story)
Nana abu: Ma apnay scooter tu utarya ,samnay wala pehlwan
apni cycle tu utarya. Unhain apnay jism tay mitti mali ay
Shift to another language/dialect is source of humor here.
Quantity maxim is violated as more than needed information is
given . element of exaggeration and self recommendation as
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rhetoric techniques are also present.

Hainn
Nabeel:
(A stereotype remark by a typical character that is repeated in a

dialogue for a number of times to create humor)

Nana abu : Tay main fir gusay witch a gea ma mitti mali nai
(self praise is there and quantity maxim is violated as complete
information hasnt come yet)
Mehmood : App na moun per mal li ?
Insulting remark in form of question that results in humorous situation
as on one side the other two characters are shown(not the viewers) to
be fed up from this detailed description and on the other the speaker
nana abu isnt feeling it and is going on violating maxims and creating
humor.
Nana abu: La vae ma unho ainj ker k sher di akh nal vekhea tay
unain menu billi di akh nal vekhea
A roar of laughter as he is violating maxim of relevance and instead of
replying Mehmood s question ,he is going on with his own story and
here self praise and exaggeration are also the rhetorical techniques
used to heighten the effect of humor.
Nabeel:
Nana abu wo sath billi b laya tha
(an example of pun and wordplay and violation of relevance too) 51

 Nana abu: (talking to Nabeel) O chup ker oye, (referring to

mehmood who has taken his head in his hands)o

kina
jhom ria ay.mazaydar wakea hovay tay bohat
he mazay
anday na samnay walay nu..fir ma pae
kori,ma unho kori
paye tay o do kadam pechay
hatya,ma akhea o gina
marzi pechay hatt,main tenu
nai chadna,ma unhon ainj
ker k phutti ker k
maran lae agay wadea ,utu magrib
oye ha,o apnay
gar wal nathea,tay lo vae dangal aik
wari fir cancell.
(relevance maxim not observed as Nab eel's question isnt
answered and insult is the rhetoric tool to create humor .
Quality maxim is violated as without knowing the fact he
asserts that Mehmood is enjoying his story that is in fact
contrary to facts . Quantity maxim is violated as more then
socially appropriate information is given. Self praise is
prominent. Repetition of fir ma pae kori and its reversal is
humorous. Exaggeration and the awaited end brings roars
of laughter as it is trivial as compared to the details given in
the so detailed and exaggerated description.
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(i)Are the maxims of conversation violated to create humour?

yes, the prominent one is of quantity
(ii) If they are violated, then how and by whom?
sometimes individual violation but some times two maxims are
violated at the same time .The main character here nana abu is
the cause of violation which results in further violations .
mehmood and nabeel too violate certain maxims.
(iii) Does observation of these maxims also result in humor ?
no as if there is observation of one maxim, then there is violation
of some other maxim at the same time so this mixture gives a
humorous touch to the dialogue.
(iv) Which maxims are mostly violated and why?
It is the Quantity maxim with the relevance maxim that is violated
the most in this dialogue (as nana abus lines in this dialogue are
a proof to it)
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(v) What is the impact of observing or violating the

maxims ?
It makes the situation funny and results in humor and extension
of
dialogue. The characters are shown to be bored while providing
a full chance for viewers to laugh.
(vi) What kinds of rhetorical techniques are used to
create humour? How are they used and by whom?
i. Repetition of fir ma pae kori and its reversal is humorous by
nana abu
ii. Irony and exaggeration(narration of dangal)
iii.Self praise(nana Abu's)
iv.Insult (by mehmood)
v. Code mixing(shift to Punjabi by nana abu)
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Some interesting findings

More than one maxim can be violated in one utterance at the same

time.
In one utterance if one maxim is violated ,the other can be
observed.
Violation of maxims results in humor but observing the maxims in
some situations too creates humor.
Only maxims arent a source of humor but many other elements
are also involved in the creation of humor in a sitcom.
The maxims are clearly connected to each other . All of the maxims
can be violated individually, but some of them frequently co-occur.
Quality and Manner are such a pair; they are often violated
simultaneously.
the violations of the maxim of Quantity are usually tied to the
violation of the maxim of Manner, and this happens when a
character either says too much, or remains obscure and does not
say enough.
In addition, the maxims of relevance and Quantity also often seem
to overlap and co-occur
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THE RELATION BETWEEN THE PRAGMATIC AND THE

RHETORICAL STRATEGIES
1. The rhetorical strategies of humor are linked with Grecians
maxims because:
they together are able to bring forward a more coherent picture of
the humor in such sitcoms.
Due to the different nature of the 4 maxims, they co-occur with
certain rhetorical techniques in the sitcom
The violation of the maxim of Quality co-occurs with ignorance,
insult and exaggeration
The violation of Quantity occurs together with exaggeration , self
praise and mistake.
2. There are some cases where no violation of the maxims can be
detected but still humor is there and that is because of rhetorical
strategies.

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 The rhetorical techniques of humor used to create humor in this

sitcom are:
The language-based technique s :
a) wittiness,
b) Insults,
c) Exaggeration,
d) forms of wordplay

The techniques of logic :

a) Mistakes (caused by bad judgment , lack of knowledge or sheer
stupidity)
b) Ignorance
c) Repetitions and reversals

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conclusion

Humor can be created through :

a. Violating maxims
b. Observing maxims
Observation and violation of maxims results in:
a. Humor
b. Extension of dialogues
Maxims in dialogues overlap each other and there are problems
to identify these.
Though maxims are violated yet the characters are co operative
as the story goes on with a lot of humor.
The rhetorical devices like wittiness, Insults, Exaggeration,
wordplay
Mistakes ,Ignorance ,repetitions are also in use to create humor.
Knowing maxims and rhetorical devices can be helpful to
create , understand and enjoy a sitcom by observing and
violating the maxims.
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 Not only dialogues but characters ,their actions

,expressions and their style(of dressing , talking , walking)
all contribute to make this sitcom a humorous one.
Based on this study it can be stated that the humor in this
sitcom is based on intentional misuse of language, and the
main strategies have been violations of the maxims , as
well as, for example, insults, exaggeration , ignorance.
This analysis is hoped to help with peoples appreciation as
well as creation of humor.

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REFERENCES
Attardo, S. ( 1994) Linguistic Theories of Humor. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Berger, A. A. (1995) Blind Men and Elephants Perspectives on Humor. New
Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.
Grice, H.P. (1975). Logic and Conversation. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Thomas, J. (1995) Meaning in Interaction: an Introduction to Pragmatics.
London : Longman
Lectures delivered by Prof Dr Sarwat Rasul
www.google.com

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THANK YOU ALL

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