This term paper will deal with the violation of maxims in the section of humour, mainly analysing the article “Violation of conversational maxims and cooperation: The case of jokes” by Salvatore Attardo (1993) and Andrew Goatly's (2012) chapter ”Pragmatics: co-operation and politeness” in “Meaning and Humor”.
Before analysing the article “Violation of conversational maxims and cooperation: The case of jokes” by Salvatore Attardo and Andrew Goatly's “Meaning and Humor”, we have to focus on Paul Grice's cooperative principle (CP). Grice presented the CP in 1967 and his idea was that hearer (H) and speaker (S) have to speak cooperatively and accept each other to be able to understand each other. It describes how functional communication is achieved in a conversation. In Grice's opinion, society can only function communication if it is oriented towards co-operation. He suggests that there is a way of speaking which we all accept as a kind of standard behaviour and that conversation and social interaction “is guided by the co-operative principle (CP)” (Goatly 2012, 225), which states “Make your contribution such as it is 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, 41-58).
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Paul Grice's cooperative principle
2.1 The Maxim of Quantity
2.2 The Maxim of Quality
2.3 The Maxim of Relation
2.4 The Maxim of Manner
3. Salvatore Attardo's “Violation of conversational maxims and cooperation: The case of jokes”
3.1 Violation of the four maxims
3.2 The paradox
4. Goatly's “Pragmatics: co-operation and politeness”
4.1 Violation of a maxim
4.2 Flouting of a maxim
4.2.1 Flouting Quality
4.2.2 Flouting Quality
4.2.3 Flouting Relation
4.2.4 Flouting Manner
4.3 Goatly on CP and PP
5. Conclusion
Objectives and Research Focus
This paper examines how humorous communication functions by violating the conversational maxims established by Paul Grice, specifically analyzing the theoretical contributions of Salvatore Attardo and Andrew Goatly to determine if jokes can still be considered cooperative.
- Paul Grice’s Cooperative Principle and its four conversational maxims.
- Attardo’s analysis of joke-telling as a paradoxical violation of conversational rules.
- Goatly’s integration of Leech's Politeness Principle into the study of humor.
- The role of context and social rapport in the successful interpretation of humor.
Excerpt from the Paper
The paradox
The examples (3-6) above show that each of the four maxims can be violated and still there are humorous results and a successful communicative exchange has happened. This result seems to be a paradox according to Grice's CP, because “on the one hand, joking is a successful interpersonal and/or communicative exchange, and on the other hand, joking violates the principle of cooperation, which accounts precisely for successful interpersonal communication” (Attardo 1993, 543-544). There are two options to get rid of that interesting paradox:
It can be argued that jokes are cooperative, because they 'work'; or that jokes do not truly violate the CP (cf. Attardo 1993, 544). If jokes show “the coherent organized pattern of intended meaning and received meaning” (Attardo 1993, 544), it can be assured that they follow a CP. It is not Grice's CP but some sort of CP. Attardo's opinion about Raskin's (cf. 1985, 110-114) discussion that jokes have a non-bona-fide (NFB) nature is very critical. He sees a weakness in it because Raskin pays too much attention to the role of contextual clues that contribute a transition from a normal communication-type to a humorous way of communication. In dead pan jokes for example those characteristics are suppressed on purpose (cf. Attardo 1993, 544-545). The most interesting issue, Attardo (1993, 553-554) mentions, is, what happens if the hearer (H) takes a joke seriously. If the H does not “read between the lines” and therefore does not “get” the metamessage for any reason, whether it is because of “personal feelings, familiarity with the joke, the teller, the situation, etc.” (Attardo 1993, 554), a joke would have different effects on the H.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: The author introduces the topic with an anecdote and outlines the scope of the paper, which focuses on the intersection of humor and pragmatics.
Paul Grice's cooperative principle: This chapter defines the theoretical foundation, explaining the cooperative principle and its four maxims: Quantity, Quality, Relation, and Manner.
Salvatore Attardo's “Violation of conversational maxims and cooperation: The case of jokes”: This section analyzes how humor intentionally breaches Grice's maxims and presents the paradox of jokes being both uncooperative and successful communicative acts.
Goatly's “Pragmatics: co-operation and politeness”: This chapter explores Andrew Goatly’s perspective, incorporating Geoffrey Leech's Politeness Principle to better classify humorous communication and the role of banter.
Conclusion: The author summarizes that while Grice’s framework is useful, humor requires a more nuanced, emotional approach, such as that provided by integrating the Politeness Principle.
Keywords
Pragmatics, Cooperative Principle, Grice, Attardo, Goatly, Humor, Jokes, Maxims, Politeness Principle, Communication, Paradox, Implicature, Banter, Speech Acts, Linguistics
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this paper?
The paper explores the relationship between humorous communication and the conversational maxims developed by Paul Grice, specifically investigating why humor is perceived as cooperative despite violating these rules.
What are the primary thematic fields covered?
The main themes include linguistic pragmatics, humor theory, the cooperative principle, the politeness principle, and the analysis of communicative intent in jokes.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to determine how humorous texts, which violate conversational maxims, manage to remain functional and convey information, by comparing the theories of Salvatore Attardo and Andrew Goatly.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The paper employs a comparative literature review, analyzing key linguistic texts and illustrating theoretical points through the dissection of specific examples of jokes and conversational exchanges.
What is addressed in the main body?
The main body breaks down Grice's original principles, evaluates Attardo’s paradox of humorous maxim-violation, and examines Goatly’s expansion of these ideas through the lens of politeness and ritual banter.
Which keywords characterize the work?
The study is best characterized by terms such as pragmatics, humor, communicative cooperation, conversational maxims, and the politeness principle.
How does the author define the "paradox" of humor?
The paradox lies in the fact that joking is clearly a successful interpersonal exchange, yet it fundamentally violates the rules of cooperation that are supposed to govern such successful communication.
What role does the Politeness Principle play in the discussion?
The Politeness Principle is introduced by the author to show that humor, particularly "banter," functions to build rapport rather than to deceive, which helps resolve some of the friction caused by violating conversational maxims.
- Quote paper
- Anonym (Author), 2016, Co-operation in humour and jokes. An analysis and comparison of humour with reference to Salvatore Attardo and Andrew Goatly, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/334661
