Grice's Maxims
GRICE’S MAXIMS AND GOFFMAN’S FACE
Grice’s Maxims
There are four maxims in conversation, The maxim of quantity, The maxim of quality, The maxim of relation and The maxim of manner.
1) The maxim of quantity – This is where one tries to be as informative as one possibly can and gives as much information that is needed, and no more. E.g. – “Hey what’s up?” “Well first and all my legs are killing me so I had to go to the doctors at 6 in the morning to get them checked out, then I had to run all the way to my grandpa’s just to put him to bed and then I had to walk the dog until I met a lovely lady called Sophie and we stopped and had a drink...“ blah blah blah.
2) The maxim of quality – Where one tries to be as truthful, and does not give false information or information that is not supported by evidence. E.g. – “Hi, How are you?” “I’m very unwell as I ate 400 hamburgers in one second.”
3) The maxim of relation – Where one tries to be relevant to the topic of conversation. E.g. “Where do you live nowadays?” “ I got fired today, and I’m not happy!”
4) The maxim of manner – When one tries to be as clear, as brief, and as orderly as one can in what one says, and where avoids obscurity and ambiguity. E.g. – “ I hear you went to the opera last night, how was the lead singer?” “The singer produced a series of notes corresponding closely to the score of an aria from “Rigoletto”
Goffman’s Face
This is the image that we give to others in social interactions without the use of vulgarisms. “Face work” Goffman coined this term to refer to the image or face we present to others in social interactions.
How is face maintained?
This relies on the co-operative nature of the conversation. We may inwardly accuse others of presenting an insecure face HOWEVER we generally keep them views to ourselves. Face also maintains the social status of participants in the conversation. Those from a lower status seem to be more aware of the need to present a certain face to those of a higher
Grice’s Maxims
There are four maxims in conversation, The maxim of quantity, The maxim of quality, The maxim of relation and The maxim of manner.
1) The maxim of quantity – This is where one tries to be as informative as one possibly can and gives as much information that is needed, and no more. E.g. – “Hey what’s up?” “Well first and all my legs are killing me so I had to go to the doctors at 6 in the morning to get them checked out, then I had to run all the way to my grandpa’s just to put him to bed and then I had to walk the dog until I met a lovely lady called Sophie and we stopped and had a drink...“ blah blah blah.
2) The maxim of quality – Where one tries to be as truthful, and does not give false information or information that is not supported by evidence. E.g. – “Hi, How are you?” “I’m very unwell as I ate 400 hamburgers in one second.”
3) The maxim of relation – Where one tries to be relevant to the topic of conversation. E.g. “Where do you live nowadays?” “ I got fired today, and I’m not happy!”
4) The maxim of manner – When one tries to be as clear, as brief, and as orderly as one can in what one says, and where avoids obscurity and ambiguity. E.g. – “ I hear you went to the opera last night, how was the lead singer?” “The singer produced a series of notes corresponding closely to the score of an aria from “Rigoletto”
Goffman’s Face
This is the image that we give to others in social interactions without the use of vulgarisms. “Face work” Goffman coined this term to refer to the image or face we present to others in social interactions.
How is face maintained?
This relies on the co-operative nature of the conversation. We may inwardly accuse others of presenting an insecure face HOWEVER we generally keep them views to ourselves. Face also maintains the social status of participants in the conversation. Those from a lower status seem to be more aware of the need to present a certain face to those of a higher