ConversationalImplicatureGeneratedbyObservanceandFloutoftheMaximsin"Titanic"
1 Introduction
The concept of'implicature'was first proposed by H.P.Grice in the William James lectures named Logic and Conversation delivered at Harvard University in 1967."The term'implicature'is used by Grice (1975) to account for what a speaker can imply, suggest, or mean, as distinct from what the speaker literally says" (Brown and Yule, 2000:31) .After coined the term"implicature", Grice also exploredthequestionhowpeoplemanagetoconvey implicature.According to him, "there is a set of overarching assumptions guiding the conduct of conversation.These arise, it seems, from basic rational considerations and may be formulated as guidelines for the efficient and effectiveuseoflanguageinconversationtofurther cooperative ends" (Levinson, 2004:101) .
Thetheoryofconversationalimplicaturegivesthe linguists a brand new insight into the use of language, and attracts lots of interests both in abroad and at home.In post-Gricean period, linguists make a lot of revisions concerning the Conversational Principle.For example, Dan Sperber and Deirdre Wilson's Relevance theory, they argue that all Griecean maxims should be reduced to a single principle of relevance.Others such as Levinson's QIM Principle;Leech'sPolitenessPrinciplealsobearsgreat importance.The revisions of the principle also push forward thestudyandinvestigationofthetheoryofthe conversational principle.
The paper tried to analyze how the conversational implicature generated by the observance and flouting of the maxims in the famous movie"Titanic".In the first part, generalized conversational implicatures or standard implicature are explained through observing the maxims.In the second part, particular implicature are explained through flouting the maxims.
2 Maxims and Generalized Implicatures
"Conversationalimplicaturereferstoanymeaning implied by or understood from the utterance of a sentence whichgoesbeyondwhatisstrictlysaidorentailed" (Mathews, 2000:75) .Gricedividedtheconversational implicatureintotwoparts:generalizedimplicaturesand particularized implicatures.
To recover the implicature of the speaker, hearers are guidedbysomebasicrules, thatis, thecooperative principle, and Grice formulates it as follows:"make your conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged" (He, 2003:371) .The principle can be divided into 4 sets of maxims that is, the maxim of quantity, quality, relation and manner.In this part, the analysis will focus on the generalized implicatures.Generalized implicatures are those that arise without any particular context or special scenario being necessary.Generalized implicature is obtained by assuming that the speaker is observing the cooperative principle and its maxims, and his uttering of the prior sentence wil generally carry some implicatures.
2.1 Generalized Implicature Generated by Observance of the Maxim of Quantity
Grice states that"the category of quantity relates to the quantity of the information to be provided, and under it fal thefollowingmaxims:1.makeyourcontributionas informative as is required (for the current purposes of the exchange) .2.Donotmakeyourcontributionmore informative than is required" (He, 2003:371) .
(1) Rose:my Coat?
Waitress:I have it, miss. (Zhu, 2005:452)
The waitress's answer is as informative as is required that is to say, she observe the maxim of quantity.She impliesthatitismethatdowithyourcoat.The implicature thus can be generated.
2.2 Generalized Implicature Generated by Observance of the Maxim of quality
The second category of quality is that"try to make your contribution one that is true."It also has two specific maxims:1.Do not say what you believe to be false.2.Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence" (He2003:371) .
At the end of the film, rose reminds that" (2) fifteen hundred people went into the sea when titanic sank from under us, there were twenty boats floating nearby, and only one came back" (Zhu, 2005:469) .The figures Rose gives to the audience are quite accurate.She observes the quality maxim and the implicature generated by observance of the quality maxim is that rose is so lucky to survive in the tragedy of Titanic.
In our daily communication, to make our contribution successful, weobservethemaximconsciouslyor unconsciously.
2.3 Generalized Implicature Generated by Observance of the Maxim of relation
The maxim of relation is very simple, that is, "to be relevant" (He, 2003:371) .The observance of the maxim o relation can be easily found in the daily life.The following utterance between the waitress and rose is quite typical one of this kind.
(3) Rose:my Coat?
Waitress:I have it, miss. (Zhu, 2005:452)
The statement of the waitress not only observes the quantity maxim, but also the maxim of relation.The reply ofthewaitressisrelevanttoRose'squestion.The implicature of her is that do not bother about your coat, please, I will do it for you.
2.4 Generalized Implicature Generated by Observance of the Maxim of manner
The maxim of manner requires the contribution to be perspicuous.Specifically, it has 4 sub-maxims, namely, "avoid obscurity of expression, avoid ambiguity, be brief, and be orderly" (He, 2003:372) .
The implicature generated by observe the manner maxim can be easily found in the movie.Consider the conversation between the waiter and Jack.
(4) Waiter:How do you take your caviar, Sir?
Jack:No caviar for me, thanks.Never did like it much. (Zhu, 2005:462)
The conversation occurs when Jack take part in the party of the upper-class.His reply is easily to understand.No obscurity, no ambiguity either.Jack's observance of the manner maxim may imply that he is not belonging to the upper-class and they have different living style.
In conclusion, it is clear that implicature can be realized through observance of the maxims.Based on the generalizedcontextandcommonsense, thesocalled generalized conversational implicature can be understood by the participant of the debate.
3 Maxims and Particularized Implicatures
In this part, we will turn to the realization of the particularized implicature.Particularized implicatures refer to those implicatures generated in a conversation by overtly and deliberately violating some sub maxims for communicative purposes.They are dependent on particular time, place and people.
The flout of these maxims will result in two conditions:on the one hand, if one of the participants flouts the maxim, andtheotheronedoesnotperceiveit, misunderstandings then generate.On the other, if the other participantperceivesit, theso-called"implicature"generates.To avoid misunderstanding, we should try our best to perceive the speaker's implicature.
3.1 ParticularizedImplicatureGeneratedbyFloutofthe Maxim of Quantity
When Jack and Rose first met in the film, the following conversation occurs:
(5) Rose:how cold?
Jack:Freezing.Maybe a couple degrees over.Have you ever, uh, ever been to Wisconsin? (Zhu, 2005:454) .
The conversation occurs when Rose wants to jump into the water since she is not satisfied with her life.By accident, Jack involved into the affair, and tried to stop her action.Jack's reply gives more information than it is required, that is, he not only answers how cold the water is and also asks whether rose have ever been to Wisconsin.Therefore, the maxim of quantity is flouted.The implicature generated here is that I won't let you jump into water.
3.2 Particularized Implicature Generated by Flout of the Maxim of Quality
The flout of the maxims of the quality in the movie can be easily seen by the use of similar.Considering the following utterance by Old Rose, " (6) But my mother looked at him like an insect.A dangerous insect which must be squashed quickly" (Zhu, 2005:460) .Here, the maxim of quality is flouted by comparing Jack to an insect.The audiences know clearly Jack is not a insect.By saying so, we can figure out that the implicature of rose is that Rose's mother does not like Jack, and she want rose to marry Carl, who is more rich, eagerly.
3.3 ParticularizedImplicatureGeneratedbyFloutofthe Maxim of Relation
The following conversation of Jack and Lovejoy will give us insight into how the implicature generated by flout of the relation maxim.
(7) Jack:Can I bum a smoke?
Lovejoy:you'll want to tie those.It's interesting that the young lady slipped so suddenly, and you still had time to remove your jacket and your shoes. (Zhu, 2005:456) .
The answer of Lovejoy seems not relevant to Jack's question.He did not state clearly whether he can have a cigarette or not.The irrelevant answer indicates that Lovejoy is doubt about Jack and Rose's explanation.The implicature of Lovejoy may be that I know you are lying.
3.4 ParticularizedImplicatureGeneratedbyFloutofthe Maxim of Manner
The maxim of manner required the contribution to be perspicuous, specifically, avoiding obscurity of expression, avoiding ambiguity, being brief, and being orderly.
The following statements are quoted from Jack:
(8) Jack:sorry.You just…seemed like, you know, kind of an indoor girl.Anyway, I fell through some thin ice and I'm tellin'ya, water that cold…like that right down there…it hits you like a thousand knives stabbing all over your body.You can't breathe, you can't think…at least not about anything but the pain.Which is why I'm not looking forward to jumping in after you.But like I said, I don't have a choice.I guess I'm not looking forward to jumping in after you.But like I said, I don't have a choice.I guess I'm kinda hoping you'll come back over the rail and get me off the hook here. (Zhu, 2005:454)
Jack comes across Rose when she is intended to jump into the sea.He tries to stop rose, but the situation seems very urgent.So his words are not so orderly.By doing this, he implies that you can not bear the icy water, and it is not wise to jump into the sea.The implicature is generated by flout of the manner maxim of"being orderly."
In conclusion, we should calculate the implicatures with some special knowledge in some particular context.The implicatures can be generated by intentionally flouts of the maxims.
4 Conclusion
Cooperative principle is very important in pragmatics.It makes pragmatics develop into a dependent linguistic subject from a concept in semiotics.According to these conversations quoted from the film"Titanic", the paper explored how the conversational implicature generated through both observance and flout of the maxims.Particularized and generalized are two divisions of the conversational implicature.Particularized andgeneralizedimplicaturescanberealizedbyboth observance and flout of the cooperative principle, namely, the maxims of quality, quantity, relation and manner.The hearer should pay more attention to the speaker's speech act, and get the implicature which the speakers intended to express, thus make successful exchange.
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