Flouting of Quality Maxim

fight. Manny : A strong, independent woman.Sounds like somebody else I know. Claire : I was never hostile, though. This whole thing with the dress... Never had this problem with Haley. 49MaDe20 In the dialogue, Claire explains to Manny that sometimes she just does not understand why Alex always fights against her. Manny responds to Claire by saying that Alex is a strong and an independent girl just like somebody else he knows. Manny flouts manner maxim because his reference is not clear. Manny blurs the reference deliberately because the real ‘somebody’ whom he is talking about is right next to him, Claire. So basically, Manny intends to say that Alex has the same characters as her mom. It turns out that Claire knows Manny is talking about her. The conversation creates humor because of Manny’s utterances. His utterances show incongruity because he responds to Claire in an unusual manner. Additionally, the scene becomes funnier because Manny is still a kid but he talks like an old man giving advice. Another criterion of flouting of manner maxim involves the characters who do not speak briefly. Instead of speaking straightforwardly to mean something, the characters usually talk in a bush. However, in the end, the utterances remain obscure. An example of flouting of manner maxim is shown by Phil. Phil employs this flouting to explain his relationship with Jay. Phil : Jay and I are buds, for sure but with kind of an invisible asterisk. Hes not, uh... Hes not a talker... or a hugger. Once, he ran over my foot with his car. To be fair, he had just given up smoking. But, basically, were buds . 37MaDe09 Phil is sitting on the couch while looking at the camera to confirm about his relationship with Jay. The interview is to respond the previous scene where Claire teases Phil and Jay for their awkward relationship. Phil and Jay tend to avoid each other when they meet. They do not even look like a close father and son-in-law. Phil’s explanation turns into obscure because he formerly claims that they are total buds. However, his next statement shows the opposite. They are buds with an invisible asterisk. Moreover, Phil is not being consistent again by revealing that Jay ever runs over Phil’s foot with his car. After saying that way, he re-confirms that Jay does not do it on purpose. In the end, he still thinks that they are total buds. Phil creates humor because of his incongruity. Flouting of manner maxim is usually used to create amusement by looking at the way it is said. To say total buds, Phil adds the supporting arguments which do not totally show the criteria of buds. Then he goes back to his belief that they are buds. By being obscure, Phil manipulates language by flouting his manner to say something.

c. Flouting of Quantity Maxim

Quantity maxim states that characters should provide sufficient information. So, the characters who flout quantity maxim would give too much information by usually adding unnecessary information or give less information. Related to humor creation, usually, the characters give extended information to support their statement by using inflated language. Meanwhile, when the characters give too little information, they cut intentionally the amount of information to create exaggeration. The example will be Phil’s utterances in the interview scene. Phil sits at the dining room while looking at the camera. He describes himself as a cool dad. Phil :I’m a cool dad. That’s my thang. I surf the web, I text LOL Laugh Out Loud, OMG, Oh My God, WTF, Why The Face. You know, I know all the dances to High School Musical, so. 04QnBo10 His statement is to respond to the previous scene. The scene presents Haley who asks Phil and Claire to invite her boyfriend to their house. Phil teases Haley that he would record her and her boyfriend. Back to the interview scene, Phil explains that he teases Haley because he wants to be close to his daughter. Hence, one of the ways to get closer is by being a cool dad. Phil flouts quantity maxim because he says too much information which is unneccessary. Phil wants to shape an image that he is a cool dad. His efforts can be seen from the way he texts messages and the TV series that he currently watches, which seems young. Phil creates humor by presenting language incongruity. Instead of describing himself as a respectful father, he would rather think that he is a cool dad. In fact, he thinks he is cooler than he is. When he states that he knows all the dances in High School Musical TV series, it turns out that he dances awkwardly. Another example of flouting of quantity maxim is by cutting the information to create exaggeration. The setting is at Phil’s house. Claire, Manny, Gloria and Alex are having conversation in the dining room when suddenly Jay