43 Monica to understand and let her to comprehend by herself by answering
Because it’s Sunday. It’s God’s day. His answer meant that he did not want to run.
The second case is flouting a maxim by giving a contribution that is more informative than is required:
EXCERPT 1.24
Ross is about to leave from Monica and Rachel’s apartment. Rachel is on the balcony when Ross says ‘Bye bye, Rach’. Rachel is trying to keep Ross
to stay. Ross : Well, I gotta go. Bye. Bye, Rach.
Rachel :
sticking her head in from the balcony Wait, are you leaving?
Ross : Yeah, thats kinda what I meant by bye
Ross was flouting the maxim of Quantity by giving the more informative answer by saying
Yeah, thats kinda what I meant by bye. Actually, Rachel only emphasized what Ross had said, and Ross could only answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Ross
answered that way because he just wanted to make a joke, since Rachel seemed to be so serious when she knew Ross was about to leave.
c. Flouting the Maxim of Relevance
When someone flouts the maxim of Relevance, heshe does not intend to mislead the hearer when heshe changes the subject. The speaker expects the
hearer to see the other meaning Alvaro, 2011. There is a reason why the speaker flouts the maxim of Relevance in the conversation. As seen in this case:
EXCERPT 3.13 Monica hates the lamp that Rachel brought from Mr.Heckles
′ apartment.
The lamp is made of shellfish that looks ugly for Monica but lovely for Rachel. Monica is trying to get rid of the lamp, but Rachel is trying to hold
the lamp. In Monica and Rachel’s apartment, Rachel is reading and admiring her new lamp.
44 Monica
: Hey, Rache. You know what we havent played in a while?
Rachel : What?
Monica : Hide the Lamp.
Rachel : Monica, let it go.
Monica : Did you know I was allergic to shellfish?
Rachel :
Well, then, youll just have to eat the other lamps.
When Monica told Rachel that she was allergic to shellfish, she meant that the allergy reacted when she was standing near the shellfish. Rachel knew that
Monica was not allergic to shellfish, but Monica said so because she wanted to throw away the lamp, which was made of shellfish. Rachel answered
Well, then, youll just have to eat the other lamps, it sounded irrelevant because the lamp was
not something to eat. The answer implied that she wanted Monica to let it go, she did not care what Monica said, she just wanted to keep the lamp.
d. Flouting the Maxim of Manner
When a person flouts the maxim of Manner, heshe would tend to speak longer than it is needed. The utterance implies something different, and the
speaker expects the hearer to catch the meaning Grice, 1989. As seen in this case:
EXCERPT 1.20
Phoebe has just cut Monica’s hair and made it looks stupid. That is why Monica does not want to get out of her room. The gang is worried about
Monica. Phoebe is playing her doctor. Monica and Rachels, Monica is recovering from her haircut, Phoebe is coming in from the Monica’s
bedroom. Ross : Hows the hair?
Phoebe : Im not gonna lie to you, Ross, it doesnt look good. I put a clip on
one side, which seems to have stopped the curling. Joey
: Can we see her?
45
Phoebe : Your hair looks too good, I think it would upset her. Ross, why dont you come on in.
Ross : Yeah. Gets up, but then pauses when he realizes what that
meant .
What Phoebe meant by saying Your hair looks too good, I think it would
upset her. Ross, why dont you come on in, in a hint or two, Ross felt he was the one who deserved to see Monica the most. Then he realized that what Phoebe just
said was that his hair was not good or as bad as Monica’s. Here, Phoebe flouted the maxim of Manner.
2. Violating Maxims on Sitcom
