48 2
Giving other information Furthermore, the situation in which the speaker gave other information than
required resulted to flout maxim of quantity.
S02E07QNFL7 Robin found out that her favorite look of Ted was unfortunately made-up and aimed to
appealed people. 1
Robin: I love that look, I think I slept with you because of that look. -- And it’s fake? 2
Ted: Oh, and you biting your lower lip, shyly looking away and thrusting your chest out is natural?
The excerpt above illustrated Ted flouted maxim of quantity. In the exchange of Robin’s inquiry, Ted did not give the information exactly as was
required. However, he did not evade current topic or to make new topic. He aimed to place Robin at the same situation and position so that Robin could infer what he
tried to imply. Ted’s utterance was not informative at the level of face value but it was informative at the level of what Ted implied Leech, 1983, p. 140.
3 Giving more information
In addition, the maxim of quantity in this research was resulted from the situation in which the speaker gave more information than it was required Leech,
1983, p. 140. The following excerpt would suffice to explain how the maxim of quality was flouted by the character.
S02E22QNFL16
Ted and Robin were in a confusion whether or not to tell Marshall due to the fact that Lily moved on.
1 Robin: He’s just starting to get better, going out with Barney. I mean, how do you think
he’s going to feel when he hears Lily’s moved on? 2
Ted: She’s moved on?
3
Robin: It happens. I’ve fallen out of love faster than that before, sometimes, boom, with no warning whatsoever. One day we’re in love, the next day, he’s dead to me. -- But
we’re great, honey.
In the conversation above Robin failed to observe the maxim of quantity.
The conversation occurred when Robin and Ted were talking about the fact that
49 Lily moved on, they were talking how Lily and Marshall might get along after
breakup. Robin took the invitation turn from Ted and uttered the information which in the purpose of its exchange was unnecessary. In the current purpose of exchange,
she laid out the information possible in such situation based on her personal experiences without making prior judgment to be important for Ted. Consequently,
the unnecessary exchange impacted on the second speaker, Ted, who has been in a relationship with her for years. Regardless of Robin’s utterance, she did not
deliberately arranged Ted to feel upset. She expected Ted to grasp the meaning that a women could overcome the broken heart soon they wanted to. Unfortunately, Ted
took the information oppositely, in spite Robin uttered the afterthought to repair her utterance. Robin’s utterance, however, contributed too much information than it
was required for current purpose Leech, 1983, p. 140. Thus, she flouted maxim of quantity.
c. Flouting Maxim of Relevance
The maxim of relevance was flouted when a speaker was giving a response or making an observation that was deliberately not relevant to the topic which was
being discussed. Its implicature arouse when the speaker deviated from the particular topic being asked and discussed. The example of which could be
illustrated by changing the subject or failing to keep to the topic Thomas 1995, p.70.
The following excerpts would suffice to present how the characters flouted maxim of relevance with the purpose: avoiding topic discussed and giving a hint.
50 1
Initiating a new topic to avoid current discussion The occurrence of the situation in which maxim of relevance was flouted
appeared in the following excerpt:
S02E03RLFL5 Mr. and Mrs. Mosby, Ted’s parents were visiting him in the apartment, while Lily and
Marshall just being single after broke up 1
Lily: Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Mosby. 2
Mr. Mosby: Oh Lily Hey, Marshall. 3
Marshall: Good to see you. 4
Lily: I was just stopping by to pick up some of my things. 5
Mrs. Mosby: yes we were so sorry to hear about your….you know, the, the…well. 6
Marshall: Lily calling off the wedding and dumping me? 7
Lily: Me begging Marshall to take me back and him rejecting me?
8
Mrs. Mosby: I love your hair.
The conversation above occurred when Lily came by to take the rest of her stuff left at the apartment. The opening line from the first turn of Lily was initiated
on the floor. Structurally, there were neither overlap nor silence chanced within the conversation and the turns among the speakers were well distributed. It means the
speakers were considered cooperative so far. At the beginning, the opening line was going pretty well. Then, Lily’s turn at the fourth turn was to inform that she came
by for picking up her stuff. Her utterance, then, invited another sympathy which was expressed by Mrs. Mosby. However, Mrs. Mosby’s utterance was incomplete,
which in terms of CP she flouted maxim of manner. The focus of the humorous effects occurred within the sequence of assessment from Lily-Marshall and the
remark of Mrs. Mosby. In this excerpt the last turn of Mrs. Mosby was discovered to flout maxim of relevance. Being at the floor, she blatantly refused to make what
she said relevant to the previous remarks uttered by Marshall and Lily Thomas 1995, p.70. Her remark “I love your hair” was aired to imply that she did not want
to talk about the unpleasant situation between Lily and Marshall.
51 2
Initiating new topic to hint the hearer Also, the research discovered the character flouted maxim of relevance on
account of giving hint, as appeared from the following excerpt:
S02E04RLFL4 Carl wished lily trade sex for beer.
Robin: Hey, Carl, is Ted still here? Carl: No. – Hey, Lily. You still single?
Lily: Yes. Carl: You know... I’ve poured a lot of free drinks for you over the years. A lot.
The conversation chanced when Robin and Lily swung by at the Mac’ Laren bar to find Ted. Structurally, at the beginning, everybody involved in the
conversation were cooperative. It was indicated by the adjacency pair which patterned well. Until Carl uttered “You know... I’ve poured a lot of free drinks for
you over the years. A lot.” Carl refused to make his utterance relevant to chance of a new topic Thomas 1995, p.70. Through his utterance, he implied a sex invitation
for Lily.
d. Flouting Maxim of Manner
The maxim of manner was flouted when a speaker deliberately failed to observe the maxim by not being brief, not being orderly, using obscure language or
ambiguous language. In humorous-expressive contexts, what the speaker really intended to point was implicitly expressed in a changing manner Langacker, 1993,
p. 30. This created an implicature which made the participants look for an additional set of meaning Thomas, 1995, p. 71. Its implicature occured when the
utterances were not brief, ambiguous, and obscure.
