This document discusses the different types of maxim flouting in pragmatics based on Grice's Cooperative Principle. It describes quantity maxim flouting as providing too little or too much information. Quality maxim flouting involves saying something believed to be false. Relevance maxim flouting means being irrelevant in communication. Manner maxim flouting uses ambiguous or obscure expression. Examples are provided for each type to illustrate conversational exchanges where the maxims are flouted to convey hidden meanings.

1. MAXIM FLOUTING
PRAGMATICS

2. TYPES OF MAXIM FLOUTING
Quantity Maxim Flouting
Quantity maxim flouting means that the speakers of a conversation fail
to fulfill the maxim of quantity in the Cooperative Principle. It includes
whether the speakers are not as informative as is required or more
informative than is required. Speakers become less informative or more
informative when they flout maxim of quantity.
Charlene : I hope you brought the bread and the cheese.
Dexter : Ah, I brought the bread.
Yule (1996: 40)
In this conversation, Dexter tries to say that what is not mentioned is
not brought. He intentionally gives too little information to respond to
Charlene’s utterance so Charlene as the hearer of Dexter is expected to
understand the unstated meaning of ‘Ah, I brought the bread.’ By
saying that utterance, Dexter has flouted maxim of quantity because he
does not give the required information.

3. Quality Maxim Flouting
When a speaker flouts a maxim of quality, the speaker simply
says something that does not represent what he or she actually
thinks. The speaker fails to fulfill the maxim of quality; a maxim
that requires the speaker to make a contribution that is true, that is
not saying what is believed to be false and not saying that for
which the speaker lacks of adequate evidence.
Ellie : Ough. Winter has come.
Sam : Right. My house is a refrigerator right now.
By saying my house is a refrigerator; Sam has been flouting
maxim of quality. It is because he says something that is not true.
Sam believes that his house is not a refrigerator. Saying thing that
he believes to be false flout maxim of quality. In terms of
conveying hidden message, Sam tries to express his agreement
and inform Ellie that his house is very cold as a refrigerator by
saying that expression.

4. Relevance Maxim Flouting
Relevance maxim flouting means that the speakers of a
conversation fail to be relevant in communicating. Speakers are
usually being irrelevant in flouting maxim of relevance.
However, being irrelevant does not purely mean that the speakers
do not want to be relevant. Sometimes, speakers are being
irrelevant because they want to hide something or to say
something to others indirectly.
Annie : Betty, the phone is ringing.
Betty : I’m in the bath.
Cutting (2008: 38)
In this exchange, Betty has flouted maxim of relevance by being
irrelevant. Betty states an answer with a different topic. Here,
Annie is expected to be able to receive Betty’s unstated message.
Since Betty is in the bath, Annie is expected to answer the phone.

5. Manner Maxim Flouting
The example of manner maxim flouting:
Daughter : Where are you going, Dad?
Daddy : To the m-a-r-k-e-t.
A father answers his daughter’s question ambiguously. Instead of
saying ‘market’ directly, he spells the word ‘market’ by its letters.
Thee father has flouted maxim of manner since he does not avoid
obscurity of expression.
Related to the meaning and the reason for the father saying that,
the context is an important aspect to observe.
In this case, the father is trying to keep a secret from his littlest
daughter so his littlest daughter does not demand to go along with
him. This unstated meaning makes the father flouts maxim of
manner, not violate it.

6. A further example:
Ahmad : Science class?
Joe : Yes. The lecturer came in and the students
left.
When Joe explains his class, he uses an ambiguous sentence.
Here, Joe has flouted maxim of manner. His sentence can be
meant that the students left after the lecturer comes because
principally they do not join the class or that the students
purposely left after the lecturer comes because they do not want
to join the class (actually they should be in the class).
Here, Joe’s utterance is ambiguous. It has two meanings inside
that can make the listener confused.

7. References and Recommended Reading
• Cutting, J. (2008). Pragmatics and Discourse: A Resource
Book for Students. New York: Routledge
• Mey, J. L. (2001). Pragmatics, An Introduction, Second
Edition. Australia: Blackwell Publishing.
• Gazdar, G. (1979) Pragmatics, Implicature, Presupposition
and Logical Form. New York: Florida Academic Press,
Inc. ltd.
• Grice, H.P. (1975). Logic and Conversation. New York:
Oxford University Press.
• Yule, G. (1996). Pragmatics. United Kingdom: Oxford
University Press.
• Levinson, S. C. (1995). Pragmatics. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.