her family history beforehand. Furthermore, Robin‟s long-winded statements are not the topic of discussion since T
ed‟s mother‟s question is about whether or not Robin wants to have her grandkids. In fact, instead of telling about her gene,
which is actually unnecessary to the topic of the discussion, she could have just said directly that she wants Ted‟s mother to want Robin to have her grandkids.
That would be more sufficient and more concise. In conclusion, by saying that long-winded explanation written in bold previously, it is said that Robin flouts the
maxim of Quantity.
b. Flouting of maxim of Quality
There is one flouting of maxim of Quality as the result of the analysis. The explanation is presented below.
Data code:
03FloQualHos Ted
Hey. Robin Hey.
Ted How was your day?
Robin Good. Ted
Wow, youre a great interviewer. Arent you gonna ask how my day was?
Robin No, I know how it was. It was awful. Ooh, you want
to rent a movie tonight?
Ted
You know, um... I listen to your work stories all the time.
Robin
Yeah, but... and I dont want to be rude here, but my work stories are interesting. Im a television news
reporter.
The situation above is taken at Ted‟s apartment. Robin just goes back from working and Ted is waiting for her. Ted is basically an architect and Robin is a
television news reporter. All of this time, Ted feels that Robin has never asked Ted about Ted‟s work stories while Ted has always been listening to Robin‟s
work stories every time. Until that night, Ted tries to make Robin ask him about his work stories.
In that situation, Ted asks Robin how her day was, and she answers that it was good. According to Ted, Robin‟s response is not like the way he wants
because Robin provides too little information than what he expects. Due to the fact that Robin does not ask Ted about his work stories, Ted asks Robin again by
directly saying, “Arent you gonna ask how my day was?”, then she answers, “No, I know how it was. It was awful
”. In here, Robin‟s answer is not based on the truth. Robin‟s statement saying that Ted‟s job is awful only depends on her
perception about Ted‟s job. She does not truly understand about Ted‟s job yet she
still says that his job is awful. Giving information which is not based on the truth in a conversation is the proof that Robin flouts the maxim of Quality.
c. Flouting of maxim of Relation
There are eight floutings of maxim of Relation found in the situation comedy. The writer puts some examples of the floutings as explained below.
Data code:
04FloRelRls Ted
OK, where was I? It was June 2006 and life had just taken an unexpected turn.
Ted’s daughter
Cant you just skip ahead to the part where you meet Mom? I feel youve been talking for like a
year.
Ted
Honey, all this stuff Im telling you is important. Its all part of the story.
Ted’s son Can I go to the bathroom? Ted
No.
In this situation above, Ted‟s son and daughter are sitting on a sofa in front of him. They are listening to Ted‟s story of how he meets their mother.
Apparently, they think that it takes too long for Ted to explain the main story. Thus, when Ted almost starts to continue the long story of how he meets his wife,
his son asks, “Can I go to the bathroom?” It can be seen that Ted‟s son‟s
question written in bold previously is irrelevant due to the topic being discussed in that situation since all of a sudden Ted‟s son wants to go to the bathroom.
In this situation, it can be seen that there is a deeper me aning from Ted‟s
son‟s question. Ted‟s son wants to deliver implicature that he is not interested in listening to his Dad‟s long story. Therefore, he changes the topic of discussion by
looking for an excuse to go to the bathroom in order to avoid the storytelling. Being asked that permission, Ted knows that his son does not literally want to go
to the bathroom because previously in the conversation, both of Ted‟s son and daughter say that Ted has been talking for too long. Ted understands his son‟s
intention to avoid his telling the story. In conclusion, by providing irrelevant statement to change the topic of discussion, Ted‟s son is seen as flouting the
maxim of Relation.
Data code:
07FloRelInc Teds
mother Oh, I forgot to tell you, your cousin Jimmy had a
wonderful time at that spa he visited.
Ted You mean the spa the judge ordered him to go to to
quit cocaine?
Teds mother
Coffee?
In here, as a 30th anniversary gift, Ted buys his parents tickets to New York. He wants them to stay for the weekend and spend some quality time with
him. Right after they arrive at Ted‟s apartment, his mother tells Ted about her
cousin. She says, “Oh, I forgot to tell you, your cousin Jimmy had a wonderful
time at that spa he visited.” Ted responds and clarifies her statement by asking, “You mean the spa the judge ordered him to go to to quit cocaine?” Then, his
mother responds him by saying, “Coffee?”
In here, Ted knows the fact that his parents apparently do not like to talk about things that are uncomfortable or emotional. Thus, Ted understands that her
mother attempts to change the topic of the discussion by providing a new question about coffee which is not rela
ted to Ted‟s question about the spa. Being aware his mother‟s intention to change the topic of discussion, he does not pose that
question again to his mother. In conclusion, it can be seen from the conversation above that Ted‟s mother does not follow Grice‟s cooperative principle by flouting
the maxim of Relation.
Data code:
09FloRelInc Ted
Hey. Robin Hey.
Ted How was your day?
Robin Good. Ted
Wow, youre a great interviewer. Arent you gonna ask how my day was?
Robin No, I know how it was. It was awful. Ooh, you want to
rent a movie tonight?
The situation above is taken at Ted‟s apartment. Robin just goes back from working and Ted is waiting for her. Ted is basically an architect and Robin is a
television news reporter. As it has been explained previously, both Ted and Robin are arguing about each other‟s work stories in the conversation above.
In the middle of the conversation, Ted asks, “Arent you gonna ask how my day was?
” Then, Robin answers, “No, I know how it was. It was awful,” and
she directly changes the topic of discussion by asking Ted, “Ooh, you want to rent a movie tonight?
” In here, before asking Ted to rent a movie, she says that Ted‟s job is awful. She thinks that telling Ted that his job is awful will answer his
question because he keeps asking Robin‟s opinion about his job as an architect. To directly change the topic of discussion, Robin asks Ted whether or not he
wants to rent a movie that night because she does not want to discuss further about the work-sharing issue.
In here, Robin‟s question which is: “Ooh, you want to rent a movie tonight?
” is seen unrelated to the topic being discussed in the conversation which is about Ted‟s job. Being given that question as written in bold previously, Ted
understands Robin‟s intention to change the topic of discussion. Realizing that, instead of answering Robin‟s question, Ted keeps asking her opinion about his
job. In conclusion, Robin‟s attempt to change the topic of discussion by providing unrelated question to Ted shows that she is not being cooperative in the
conversation. She is said to flout the maxim of Relation.
