COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLE

Rules for Conversation Imagine what would happen to language if there were no rules to follow during conversations. Then it would be perfectly acceptable to follow: “Hi, how are you doing?” with “Cars are typically made from steel”, or to simply lie with every statement you made. It is clear that in normal conversation we don’t simply say whatever we please, but instead follow some general guidelines as to what is acceptable and what isn’t. One of the most basic assumptions we make for successful communication to take place is that both people in a conversation are cooperating. This is called the Cooperative Principle (conceived originally by the Philosopher H.P. Grice in his article ‘Logic and Conversation’ (1975).

Cooperative Principle Make your conversational contribution such as required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged. Grice further identified 4 groups of maxims (principles) which people implicitly obey when communicating. These are the Conversational Maxims. Maxim of quality Maxim of quantity Maxim of relation Maxim of manner

Maxim of Quality Do not say what you believe to be false. (i.e. don’t lie) Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence. (i.e. don’t say that for which you can’t back up) That is, we should say what we believe to be true and what we have evidence for. A : Is there a gas station around here? B : Well, there’s a gas bar, if you just need some gas. not B : Nope. [ommitting that there gas bar at the Canadian Tire]

Maxim of Quality A : Is there a gas station around here? B : Yep, two lights up on the left there’s a new Petrosaurus Station. not B : Nope. [false: there is one] If we are unsure of what we want to say, or want to avoid someone inferring we have evidence for what we say, we often use hedges such as : ‘ As far as I know … ‘ ‘ I guess … ‘ to show we are aware of the cooperative principle.

Maxim of Quantity Make your contribution as informative as is required. (i.e. don’t say too little) Do not make your contribution more informative than is required. (i.e. don’t say too much) That is, we should make our contribution as informative as is required for the particular purpose and not make it more informative than is on this occasion required. A : Is there a gas station around here? B : Sure, King and Erb. Not B : Yep, King and Erb. They have a sale on gumboots at the hardware store across the street from it, too.

Maxim of Quantity We will often use hedges to show we are aware of this maxim, for example, by saying : ‘ To cut the long story short … ‘ ‘ As you probably already know … ‘

Maxim of Relation Be relevant A : Is there a gas station around here? B : Yep, there’s a gas station at King and Weber. [closed] Not B : Nope, you’ll have to go all the way to Erb Street; everything’s closed around here because of the Anthrax scare. To indicate that our contribution may be irrelevant to the interaction, for example to a change of topic, by using a device such as ‘ by the way … ‘ ‘ anyway … ‘ ‘ well … ‘ to show we are aware of this maxim.

Maxim of Manner Be clear Don’t be obscure Don’t be ambiguous Be brief Be orderly We should be clear in what we say. That is, we should avoid ambiguity or obscurity, and be brief and orderly in our contribution to the interaction. A : Is there a gas station around here? B : Yes, somewhere near the theater. B : Yep. Next to the old Smith place. B : Maybe there is, maybe there isn’t.

Maxim of Manner A : Is there a gas station around here? B : Sure quite a few. I know where every gas station built in the KW area since the Great War was located. First, there was the Ollie Petrie Service Station at the corner of … B : Sure at Erb, turn right off King, To get to King, take Westmount, and turn left when you get there. Before that, go three lights down University and turn left at Westmount. First, however, … We might produce hedges such as ‘ I’m not sure if this makes sense, but … ‘ to show we are aware of this maxim.