Question: What is the cooperative principle? Discuss with reference to Grecian Maxims.
The cooperative principle
The cooperative principle states that you should say things that are appropriate for the kind of conversation you are having. In other words, cooperative principle stands for “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.” This principle was first proposed in 1970s by the British philosopher of language Paul Grice who is famous for his theory of ‘Implicature’.
The cooperative principle in the light of Grecian Maxims
Grecian Maxims are called the rules of conversation. The conversational maxims deal specifically with communication. The cooperative principle could well be understood in the light of Grecian Maxims which can be broken into four parts which are as follows:
The maxim of quality
This rule is very basic which states that you should always speak the truth with enough evidence to backup what you are talking about. So, this rule of conversation insists on being credible.
More Notes Of Linguistic
The maxim of quantity
This rule of conversation says that you should be as informative as you need to be. To put it differently, it says that you should lay out information that you think as proper.
For example:
“I think some cookies are delicious”. Actually, this sentence bears twice meaning for the listener because this sentence states that ‘I like some cookies’ and there some which ‘I do not like’. But if you say that “all cookies are delicious” which is logically truer than “I think some cookies are delicious” that is not logical in accordance with the maxim of quantity.
The maxim of manner
This one means that you should talk in a way that is appropriate for the people when you are talking with. Now appropriate means four different things here.
- You should use words which are understandable to your listeners. For an instance: “if you say while explaining that the sky is blue or the stars are twinkling”, this will create difference while you talk with kinder gardener or third-year university student.
- Avoidance of unnecessary prolixity that means you should make your point quick without wasting time.
- You should stay away from ambiguity.
- You should speak orderly that means you should finish your speech from starting to end.
The maxim of relevance
This rule is very simple, and it says you not to be irrelevant while talking.
Thus, it becomes transparent that Grecian maxims are not merely rules but more guidelines and pretty much universal.
