Flouting of grice’s maxims by Jordanian speakers in everyday communication

Abstract

The study utilizes Grice’s (1975) conversational maxims (quality, quantity, relation, and manner) which make up the cooperative principle to investigate how and why Jordanians flout the maxims in their everyday conversations. There are many studies that examine speakers’ non-observance of the conversational maxims in everyday conversations. However, this study aims to advance pragmatic theory by illuminating the new pragmatic strategies of Jordanian speakers’ non-observance of maxims (flouting) and classifying them in accordance with these Grice’s maxims for the purpose of developing a framework that can help researchers classify data into pragmatic strategies and linguistic forms based on flouting of these maxims and how this flouting functions. This study also aims to show how nonobservance constitutes an important factor in helping the addressee realize the intended meaning and maintain stronger relationships between Jordanian speakers as well. Furthermore, this study identifies the most prominent maxims that are flouted in such everyday conversations. Among the main findings is that Jordanian speakers flout maxims as an indication or hint for an implicature that the speaker makes for positive purposes that aim to maintain and strengthen social intimacy. Additionally, this study offers more in-depth explanations of the relationships between flouting’s dimensions, drawing on micro, meso and macro concepts as one way to depict how implicature is made by the speaker and grasped by the hearer for securing social goals in Jordanian Arabic.