Difference between revisions of "Maxim of manner"

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In semantics/pragmatics, the [[Gricean maxims]] are communicative principles that were proposed by [[H.P. Grice]] as an elaboration of his [[Cooperative Principle]]. The '''Maxim of Manner''' makes the following requirements:  
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The '''maxim of manner''' is one of the Gricean [[conversational maxim]]s which constitute the [[Cooperative Principle]]. It makes the following requirements:
  
:‘Be perspicuous’
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* ‘Be perspicuous’
:1 Avoid obscurity of expression.
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** Avoid obscurity of expression.
:2 Avoid ambiguity.
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** Avoid ambiguity.
:3 Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity).
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** Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity).
:4 Be orderly.
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** Be orderly.
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The '''maxim of manner''' thus relates "not [...] to what is said but, rather, to HOW what is said to be said [...]" (Grice 1975: 46).
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An elaboration of the Gricean maxim of manner was proposed by Leech (1983: 100), who distinguishes two kinds of clarity: "One kind consists in making unambiguous use of syntax and phonology of the language in order to construct a clear text. Another type [...] consists in framing a clear message, ie a message which is perspicuous or intelligible in the sense of conveying the intended illocutionary goal to the addressee."
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==Examples==
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* A: I hear you went to the opera last night; how was the lead singer?
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* B: The singer produced a series of sounds corresponding closely to the score of an aria from 'Rigoletto'. (Levinson 1983: ***)
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B flouts the maxim of manner, as the sentence is unnecessarily prolix.
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==See also==
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* M-Principle
  
 
===Link===
 
===Link===
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===References===
 
===References===
 
* Atlas, J. and S. Levinson (1981) It-clefts, informativeness, and logical form, In: P. Cole ed., Radical Pragmatics, 1-61, New York: Academic Press
 
* Atlas, J. and S. Levinson (1981) It-clefts, informativeness, and logical form, In: P. Cole ed., Radical Pragmatics, 1-61, New York: Academic Press
* Horn, Lawrence. (1984) Toward a new taxonomy for pragmatic inference: Q-based and R-based implicature, In: D. Schiffrin ed., Meaning, Form and Use in Context (GURT '84), 11-42, Washington: Georgetown University Press
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* Horn, Lawrence. (1984) Toward a new taxonomy for pragmatic inference: Q-based and R-based implicature, In: D. Schiffrin ed., Meaning, Form and Use in Context (GURT '84), 11-42, Washington: Georgetown University Press.
* Sperber, D. and D. Wilson (1986) ''Relevance: Communication and Cognition'', Oxford: Blackwell
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* Levinson, S. 2000. ''Presumptive Meanings: The Theory of Generalized Conversational Implicature''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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* Sperber, D. and D. Wilson (1986) ''Relevance: Communication and Cognition'', Oxford: Blackwell.
  
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[[Category:Semantics]]
 
[[Category:Semantics]]
 
[[Category:Pragmatics]]
 
[[Category:Pragmatics]]

Revision as of 19:20, 15 September 2009

The maxim of manner is one of the Gricean conversational maxims which constitute the Cooperative Principle. It makes the following requirements:

  • ‘Be perspicuous’
    • Avoid obscurity of expression.
    • Avoid ambiguity.
    • Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity).
    • Be orderly.

The maxim of manner thus relates "not [...] to what is said but, rather, to HOW what is said to be said [...]" (Grice 1975: 46).

An elaboration of the Gricean maxim of manner was proposed by Leech (1983: 100), who distinguishes two kinds of clarity: "One kind consists in making unambiguous use of syntax and phonology of the language in order to construct a clear text. Another type [...] consists in framing a clear message, ie a message which is perspicuous or intelligible in the sense of conveying the intended illocutionary goal to the addressee."

Examples

  • A: I hear you went to the opera last night; how was the lead singer?
  • B: The singer produced a series of sounds corresponding closely to the score of an aria from 'Rigoletto'. (Levinson 1983: ***)

B flouts the maxim of manner, as the sentence is unnecessarily prolix.

See also

  • M-Principle

Link

Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics

References

  • Atlas, J. and S. Levinson (1981) It-clefts, informativeness, and logical form, In: P. Cole ed., Radical Pragmatics, 1-61, New York: Academic Press
  • Horn, Lawrence. (1984) Toward a new taxonomy for pragmatic inference: Q-based and R-based implicature, In: D. Schiffrin ed., Meaning, Form and Use in Context (GURT '84), 11-42, Washington: Georgetown University Press.
  • Levinson, S. 2000. Presumptive Meanings: The Theory of Generalized Conversational Implicature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Sperber, D. and D. Wilson (1986) Relevance: Communication and Cognition, Oxford: Blackwell.

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