Pragmática y Discurso en Lengua Inglesa Year 2021-2022
Prof. Nuria Calvo Cortés
EXERCISES ON The Cooperative Principle
1 & 2 by Huang, Yan. 2007. Pragmatics. Oxford: OUP
3, 4, 5 & 6 by Grundy, Peter. 1995. Doing Pragmatics. London: Edward Arnold.
1.- Children with pragmatic disorders may often fail to observe the maxims. In the
following conversation which maxim did the child violate?
Speech therapist: So, you like ice-cream. What are your favourite flavours?
Child with a pragmatic disorder: Hamburger and fish and chips.
2.- Which maxims does the speaker intend to opt out from by using the following
hedges?
I don’t think I have sufficient evidence for this, I’m not at liberty to say any more
I know this is irrelevant, but … This is a bit confused, but …
So, to cut a long story short, … Not to change the topic, but …
I’m sure you already know this, but … People say …
3.- What are the implicatures of these two adverts and how do they illustrate the
non-conventional nature of conversational implicature?
-In August/ September 1992 a WH Smith advert featuring various items of stationery
appeared on hoardings in Britain. The poster bore the legend:
-‘We don’t sell uniforms’
-This was followed by a series of ‘We don’t sell …’ posters, which included an ad
shortly before Christmas featuring videos of romantic films bearing the legend:
-‘We don’t sell hankies’
4.- Decide whether the following utterances are flouts, and if so, of which maxims.
-It’s part of the culture, it survives because it survives (Commentator on the Miss
American competition, BBC Radio 4)
-Have you seen that room of hers? (I haven’t seen it)
-Peter: Have you done your homework?
-Eleanor: Joanna had her ear pierced today
-Dogs take lead from owner (headline in The Times, 21 July 1997)
5.- Which maxim is flouted by each of the following examples? How is it flouted
and what is the implicature?
-Am I seeing double? (question put to his friend by a potential customer standing in
front of an optician’s shop displaying a billboard on which was written: ‘Appointment
not always neccessary’)
-Standard – Sub-standard I call them (comment made by a friend after lighting a series
of disappointing fireworks bearing the Standard brand name)
-Also available in white (comment scratched in the dirt of a white car)
-Just desserts (menu heading in a restaurant)
-To celebrate a life of note. A coin (advert for a commemorative coin struck to celebrate
Prince Charles’ fiftieth birthday)
It violates the maxim of relation
maxim of quality
maxim of relation
maxim of quality
maxim of quantity
maxim of quantity (because I'm telling
extra, it is not necessary)
maxim of quantity
maxim of relation
maxim of manner
Sentence ->
Context ->
Context ->
Sentence ->
they sell everything related to school but not uniforms
So as to get the implicature ge have to go to the message
People are gonna cry if they see romantic films. So the implicature will be: romantic films will make people cry
*breaking the maxim
Peter and Eleanor
is a conversation
because it is not enough so -> flouting the maxim of quantity
flouting the maxim of quality (you don't have evidence)
flouting the maxim of relation (there is no connection among the sentences)
flouting the maxim of manner (it's confusing)
there is an error!!
that's why the person
said that
when a question is not a real question we have a problem with the maxim of quality
"see double"/there is double "c": is playing with words, and when we play with words and irony is flouting the maxim of manner because the
sentence is not clear, is obscure
flouting the maxim of manner -> playing with words
manner (because of the joke) and quality
maxim of manner because it is obscure
"a life to be noted", they're playing with words so -> quantity of manner
Implicatures:
1. maybe if they have that error, I don't want to have a revision here.
