The Analysis of Conversations in Pride and Prejudice from the Perspective of Co—operative Principle

【Abstract】： The Co-operative Principle （CP） is a theory that was proposed by American philosopher and linguist H.P.Grice. By this theory， Grice indentifies guidelines of four basic maxims of conversations or general principles. In this essay， I would choose a very well-known novel Pride and Prejudice as a texual context， and make an analysis of the conversations between characters from perspective of co-operative principle.

【Key Words】： Co-operative Principle; Communication; Pride and Prejudice

The Co-operative Principle （CP） is important and pragmatic in human communications. The analysis in conversations will be helpful for the better understanding of CP and the implicature of conversations.

1. The Co-operative Principles

（1）Maxism of Quantity： Speakers should be as informative as is requred， and they should give neither too little information nor too much.

（2）Maxism of Quality： Speakers are expected to be sincere， to be saying something that they believe corresbonds to reality. They are assumed not to say anything that they believe to be 1 or anything for which they lack evidence.

（3）Maxism of Relation： Speakers are assumed to be saying something that is relevant to what has been said before.

（4）Maxism of Manner： We should be brief and orderly， and avoid obscurity and ambiguity.

2. Analysis of Conversation

2.1 Violation of Maxism of Quantity

People often say more or less information than is needed to make some conversational implicature， which is the violation of the maxim of quantity.

Example " Mr. Bingley： “ Did Charlotte dine with you？”

Mrs. Bennet： “ No， she would go home. I fancy she was wanted about mince pies.For my part， Mr.bingley， I always keep servants that can do their own work; my daughters are are brought differently. But everybody is to judge for themeselves， and Lucases are very good sort of girl. It’s a pity they are not handsome！ Not that I think Charlotte so very plain---but then she is our particular friend.” （Austen， 2008： 56）

In this conversation， Mrs. Bennet provides too much information for Mr. Bingley but doesn’t give an answer that Mr. Bingley needs. According to the CP， speakers should say as much as is required and they should give neither too little information or too little. Thus， the utterance of Mrs. Bennet violates the quantity maxism，.

2.2 Violation of Maxism of Quality

In daily conversations， people do not always talk about the facts. Sometimes they will say something that disagrees with the fact and do not concern it at all.

Example

Jane： “ But I hope there is no strong attachment on either side. ”

Lydia： “I am sure there is not on his. I will answer for it he never cared three straws about her. Who could about such a nasty little freckled thing？” （Austen， 2008： 286）

The utterance “he nerver cared three straws about her” violates the maxim of quality. It is common sense that straw has no significance and has little value. Lydia uses this words to show Mr. Wickham has no interest towards Miss King. She is nothing to him. It is also a metaphorical expression which is accepted by people.

2.3 Violation of Maxism of Relevance

It is common that people often continue their talks when the topic is interesting but otherwise they would often have no response or change another topic that is irrelevant with previous one. In the novel Pride and Prejudice， there are a lot of such cases.

Example

Mr. Wichham： “I should be sorry indeed， if it were. We were always good friends; and now we are better.”

Elizabeth： “True. Are the others coming out？” （Austen， 2008： 420）

In fact， “true” here means he is really a hypocritical man. Here what Elizabeth says is also irrelevant with what Mr.Wickham says. She changes the conversation topic and violates the maxim of relevance. Since Elizabeth knows the essence of Mr.Wickham， she does not want to talk to him anymore. But for politeness， she makes an answer by changing another topic.

2.4 Violation of Maxism of Manner

The maxim of manner requires the participants of a conversation must provide concise and systematic information and avoid obscurity and ambiguity. In the novel Pride and Prejudice， characters sometimes speak in a prolix and repetitive way.

Example 1

Mr. Bennet： “What is his name？”

Mrs. Bennet： “Bingley.”

Mr. Bennet： “Is he married or single？”

Mrs. Bennet： “Oh！ Single. My dear. To be sure！ A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls.” （Austen， 2008： 03）

The information that Bingley is single is repeated twice by Mrs. Bennet. Accroding to the maxim of manner， the utterance should be brief and orderly. Mrs. Bennet only need to answer once. From this point of view， Mrs. Bennet’s utterance violates the maxim of manner. She repeats it twice to emphasize that Mr. Bingley is a perfect choice for their daughters.

3. Conclusion

Grice’s cooperative principle offers theoretical maxims for people to communicate in conversations， which tells people what they should do to proceed successfully. This thesis is a study of the conversational implicature in the novel Pride and Prejudice from the perspective of the Co-operative Principle. By analyzing how the characters violate the maxims of the pragmatic principles， the thesis tries to explain how pragmatics indirectly and forcefully convey the real purpose of the characters by the implied meanings.

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