Relevance Maxim Violation And Conversational Implicature In Online Humorous Discourse

Naima Boukhelif, Amina Abdelhadi, Naima Sahli

Abstract


Humorous discourse is an act of communication with different modes and maxims. In this regard, the study at hand attempts to identify which Grice’s maxims violation brings about humorous effect and creates conversational implicatures in Algerian online jokes. To this end, in an experiment, a group of 12 people were asked to read a collection of 16 short Algerian jokes and choose the funniest ones. The 16 jokes are selected from accessible social media sites, classified, and split equally into four groups according to the violation of Grice’s maxims. By means of a mixed method and precisely the best worst scaling approach (BWS), it is found that the online jokes that violate the maxim of relevance are the ones the participants find funniest and most humorous, followed by the ones that violate the maxim of quality, quantity and then the maxim of manner. The findings of this study reveal that violating the being relevant maxim is a critical element in the structure of Algerian jokes, creating conversational implicatures related to unsaid stereotypes and cultural norms.

Keywords


Communication, humor, Grice’s Maxims, implicature, online jokes.

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References


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