Cooperative principle: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|TermPragmatics usedof inconversational linguistic pragmaticscommunication}}

The philosopher of language [[Paul Grice]] introduced the concept in his [[pragmatics|pragmatic]] theory, argued such:{{Blockquote|text=Make your contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged.<ref name="grice">{{cite book|last= Grice|first= Paul|year=1975|chapter=Logic and conversation |title=Syntax and semantics|volume=3: Speech acts |pages=41–58 |editor1-last=Cole|editor1-first=P.|editor2-last=Morgan |editor2-first=J. |publisher=Academic Press |location=New York}}</ref>{{rp|45}}}}

In other words: say what you need to say, when you need to say it, and how it should be said. Accordingly, the cooperative principle is dividedThese intoare Grice's four '''maxims of conversation''', called theor '''Gricean maxims:'''—quantity quantity, quality, relation, and manner. These four maximsThey describe specificthe [[Rationality|rational]]rules principles observedfollowed by people who follow the cooperative principle in pursuit of effective communicationconversation.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |author=Kordić, Snježana |author-link=Snježana Kordić |title=Konverzacijske implikature |trans-title=Conversational implicatures |url=http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/446883.KONVERZACIJSKE_IMPLIKATURE.PDF |language=sh |journal=Suvremena Lingvistika |volume=17 |issue=31–32 |page=89 |year=1991 |issn=0586-0296 |oclc=440780341 |ssrn=3442421 |id={{CROSBI|446883}}. {{ZDB|429609-6}} |archive-date=2 September 2012 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6ANNqArFh?url=http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/446883.KONVERZACIJSKE_IMPLIKATURE.PDF |url-status=dead |access-date=9 February 2019 }}</ref> Applying the Gricean maxims is a way to explain the link between [[utterance]]s and what is understood from them.

The concept of the cooperative principle was introduced by the linguist [[Paul Grice]] in his [[pragmatics|pragmatic]] theory. Grice researched the ways in which people derive [[Meaning (philosophy)|meaning]] from [[language]]. In his essay ''Logic and Conversation'' (1975)<ref>Grice, Paul. 1975. "[https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ls/studypacks/Grice-Logic.pdf Logic and Conversation]." Pp. 41–58 in ''Syntax and Semantics 3: Speech Acts'', edited by P. Cole and J. J. Morgan. New York, NY: Academic Press.</ref> and book ''Studies in the Way of Words'' (1989),<ref name=":1">[[Paul Grice|Grice, Paul]]. 1989. ''[http://courses.media.mit.edu/2004spring/mas966/Grice%20Logic%20and%20Conversation.pdf Studies in the Way of Words]''. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674852710. [https://books.google.com/books?id=QqtAbk-bs34C Google Books].</ref> Grice outlined four key categories, or maxims, of conversation—quantity, quality, relation, and manner—under which there are more specific maxims and sub-maxims.<ref>[[Richard Grandy|Grandy, Richard E.]], and Richard Warner. 2005 December 13. "[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/grice/ Paul Grice]" (revised 2017 October 9). ''The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy''. Retrieved 2021-06-06.</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Grice's Maxims|url=https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/dravling/grice.html|access-date=2021-06-06|website=www.sas.upenn.edu}}</ref><ref name=":3">Okanda, Mako, Kosuke Asada, Yusuke Moriguchi, and Shoji Itakura. 2015. "[https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00901/full Understanding violations of Gricean maxims in preschoolers and adults]." ''[[Frontiers in Psychology]]''. {{doi|10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00901}}.</ref>

=== Maxim of quantity (content length and depthinformativity) ===

In simple terms, theThe maxim of quantity is to: ''be informative''.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" />

In simple terms, theThe maxim of quality is to: ''be truthful''.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" />

*The maxim of relation is: ''Bebe relevant'' — i.e., one should ensure that all: the information theyprovided provideshould isbe relevant to the current exchange; thereforeand omittingomit any irrelevant information.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" />

In simple terms, theThe maxim of manner is to: ''be clear''.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /> Whereas the previous maxims are primarily concerned with ''what'' is said, the maxims of manner are concerned with ''how'' what is said is said.<ref name=":4" />

{{Blockquote|text=...[W]e need first to get clear on the character of Grice's maxims. They are not sociological generalizations about speech, nor they are moral prescriptions or proscriptions on what to say or communicate. Although Grice presented them in the form of guidelines for how to communicate successfully, I think they are better construed as presumptions about utterances, presumptions that we as listeners rely on and as speakers exploit.<ref name="Top10">{{citation|first=Kent|last=Bach|title=The Top 10 Misconceptions about Implicature|year=2005|url=http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~kbach/TopTen.pdf}} [|access-date=2011-10-09|archive-date=2004-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041114174308/http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~kbach/TopTen.pdf|url-status=bot: Internet Archive copy]unknown}}</ref>}}

It is possible to flout a maxim and thereby convey a different meaning than what is literally said.<ref name="grice" /> Often in conversation, a speaker flouts a maxim to produce a negative pragmatic effect, as with [[sarcasm]] or [[irony]]. One can flout the maxim of quality to tell a clumsy friend who has just taken a bad fall that his gracefulness is impressive and obviously mean the complete opposite. Likewise, flouting the maxim of quantity may result in ironic understatement, the maxim of relevance in blame by irrelevant praise, and the maxim of manner in ironic ambiguity.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kaufer|first=D. S.|year=1981|title=Understanding ironic communication|journal=Journal of Pragmatics|volume=5|issue=6|pages=495–510|doi=10.1016/0378-2166(81)90015-1}}</ref> The Gricean maxims are therefore often purposefully flouted by [[comedian]]s and writers, who may hide the complete truth and choose their words for the effect of the story and the sake of the reader's experience.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2014/06/20/at_least_ten_ducks_why_this_caption_is_funny_explained_by_gricean_maxims.html|title="Look At All These Ducks There Are At Least Ten." Why Is This Funny?|last1=McCulloch|first1=Gretchen|website=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|date=20 June 2014 |publisher=[[The Slate Group]]|access-date=20 June 2014}}</ref>

Grice's theory is often disputed by arguing that cooperative conversation, like most [[Social behavior|social behaviour]], is [[Cultural determinism|culturally determined]], and therefore the Gricean maxims and the cooperative principle do not universally apply because of [[cultural differences]]. Keenan (1976) claims, for example, that the [[Malagasy people]] follow a completely opposite cooperative principle to achieve conversational cooperation. In their culture, speakers are reluctant to share information and flout the maxim of quantity by evading direct questions and replying on incomplete answers because of the risk of losing face by committing oneself to the truth of the information, as well as the fact that having information is a form of [[Prestige (sociolinguistics)|prestige]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ochs Keenan |first=Elinor |year=1976 |title=On the universality of conversational postulates |journal=Language in Society |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=67–80 |doi=10.1017/s0047404500006850|s2cid=143078397 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Languages and Their Speakers|last=Shopen|first=Timothy|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|year=1987|isbn=0812212509|pages=[https://archive.org/details/languagestheirsp00shop/page/112 112–158]|url=https://archive.org/details/languagestheirsp00shop/page/112}}</ref> To push back on this point, Harnish (1976)<ref>{{cite book|last=Harnish|first=R.|title=An Integrated Theory of Linguistic Ability|publisher=New York: Crowel.|year=1976|editor=Bever T G|chapter=Logical form and implicature|editor2=Katz J J|editor3=Langendoen, D T}}</ref> points out that Grice only claims his maxims hold in conversations where the cooperative principle is in effect. The Malagasy speakers choose not to be cooperative, valuing the prestige of information ownership more highly. (It could also be said in this case that this is a less cooperative communication system, since less information is shared.)

* {{cite encyclopedia|last=Davis|first=Wayne|title=Implicature|url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/implicature/|encyclopedia=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|date=2024 |publisher=Stanford University}}