The Maxim of Relevance : Be relevant. The Maxim of Manner :

xxi b. Do not make your contribution more informative that is required. In simple words, Maxim of Quantity means do not say something less or something more than what is required because communication should be effective and efficient. The answer which is less than what is required will not satisfy the question. On the other hand, the answer which is more than what is required will make the man who asks the question confuses. See the following example: Mrs. Smith : “Will you join us to go to Bali next month?” Nancy Smith : “If my boss agrees to give me a vacation and my Department Head can exempt me from the evening classes, and I don’t have any important assignment to do and I am healthy enough, I think I will join you.” Taken from Adisutrisno.2008. p.75 In the dialogue above, Nancy Smith gives too much additional information which makes Mrs. Smith confuses. Mrs. Smith gets difficulty in understanding Nancy’s answer because it is not the answer as what Mrs. Smith expected. Nancy does not provide the answer which is directly and clearly stated to his mother’s question. Obeying the Maxim of Quantity means that we provide the answer which is directly, sufficiently, and clearly stated which leads us to the effective and efficient communication.

3. The Maxim of Relevance : Be relevant.

xxii Maxim of Relevance deals with giving the relevant answer to the question as what expected by someone who asks the question. Giving the answer or expression which is not relevant may lead to the misunderstanding of the hearer or even the message is not well transferred because the hearer is not successful in unfolding the intended meaning or message the speaker tries to convey. In simple words, to obey the Maxim of Relevance we should provide the relevant answer to the question which is easy to be understood by the hearer. The key is try to give the answer which is directly and clearly stated which is focused to the question. See the following example: A : “How did you get to this hotel?” B : “I parked my vehicle on the sixth floor, over there.” Taken from Adisutrisno.2008. p.74 A asks B how B went to that hotel. B’s answer is not relevant to A’s question and it is should be avoided to maintain the effective and efficient communication. A should interpret the implied meaning of B’s answer and it is risky to get misunderstanding. A will be successful in interpreting the intended meaning of B’s answer whenever A knows well about whether car or motorcycle which is parked on the sixth floor. If it is not, A will need a deeper explanation and it is the cause of the ineffective and inefficient communication.

4. The Maxim of Manner :

a. Avoid obscurity of expression. xxiii b. Avoid ambiguity. c. Be brief. d. Be orderly. This maxim is also important to obey because it gives us rules to make the communication to be effective and efficient. The first rule is avoid obscurity of expression. It means that we should avoid the expression which is not clear that can make the hearer gets difficulty to “read” and understanding our expression. The second rule is avoid ambiguity. It is clear that ambiguity means the expression which has more than one meaning which may lead to the wrong interpretation. The last rule is provides the expression which is briefly and orderly stated. It is suggested that we should make our expression be brief and be orderly because it is easier to understand whenever the expression is briefly and orderly stated. See the following example: A : “What do you do in Sunday morning?” B : “I usually clean my room at 9 o’clock. Before that, I wash my car in front of my house. Maxim of Manner generates the rule in order to be ‘neat’. It is suggested that the expression, like B’s expression, should be well ordered. Be brief, according to Grice, means avoid unnecessary prolixity. It means that we should xxiv express something straight to the question. A lot of speech or address should not exist in our expression. See the following example: A : “What is the capital city of Australia?” B : “Canberra. An elementary student knows better than you.” Taken from Adisutrisno.2008. p.76 Here, we see that B’s utterance has an unnecessary prolixity that is not expected by A. It means that B flouts the Maxim of Manner. The following is an example of a conversation in which the participants follow the four conversational maxims: Arthur : “Prices have increased very steeply lately.” Gerald : “I agree. Do you know the causes?” Arthur : “I am not quite sure. Gerald : “Do you think the government will succeed in reducing prices?” Arthur : “Yes, I do. What about you?” Gerald : “I think so.” Taken from Adisutrisno.2008. p.72 In the conversation above, both participants contribute information that is true, not too long, relevant, and clear. The meaning of the utterances can be easily understood from the words and structures which are produced by the speakers.

2.3 Implicature