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Psychology of Language University
of Connecticut Psychology Instructor: Whitney Tabor |
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Notes: Grice’s Maxims |
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Definition |
Violating |
Flouting |
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Quality |
Be truthful |
A: My brother came in 53rd in
the Tour de France last summer. (when B doesn’t know that
this is untrue) |
A: I don’t want any ice cream (when B
knows that A loves ice cream and is very likely to want it.) |
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Quantity |
Provide exactly as much
information as the context requires |
B
(a census taker): How many children
do you have? A: I have four children. (A
really has 10 and B is not aware of that fact). |
A: War is war. |
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Relation/Relevance |
Be relevant |
B: Daddy, listen this song about Batman. A: You still have four bites of tofu
left. |
B: Is Snoopy a dog? A: Is the Pope Catholic? (A considers the answer to
B’s question to be very obvious.) |
Manner |
Be perspicuous (avoid
obscurity, avoid ambiguity, be brief, be orderly) |
A: Walk up to the door, turn the handle
clockwise and pull gently toward you. (Instead of “open the door” when there
is no reason for giving all this detail.). |
A: Do you know what your son did today? (The son in question is
both A’s and B’s son) |
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