An Analysis of the Dialogue in Pygmalion from the Perspective of Cooperative Principle

文媛媛

Abstract：This thesis is tentative to apply the theory of conversational implicature proposed by Grice to analyze the dialogues in the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw.It could be useful to check whether the pragmatic theory can be appropriate and suitable in applying the literary works，especially plays or dramas.The pragmatic approach to the dramatic text Pygmalion produces great stylistic effects in revealing the characterization of different characters and the deep social theme，which shed light on the dynamic development of the plot.Meanwhile，the pragmatic approach to the dramatic text of Pygmalion can provide a new perspective to understand and appreciate this play and at the same time shed some light on the study and appreciation of other literary works in a general sense.

Key Words：Pygmalion，Pragmatics，Cooperative Principle，Conversational Implicature，Dramatic text

Chapter One Introduction

George Bernard Shaw is not only an outstanding realistic Irish dramatist but a literary critic and a leading figure in the 20th centurys theater as well.He has produced a great number of literary works throughout his life.Pygmalion has generally been considered to be one of Shaws most successful plays，enjoying great popularity.Since its coming into being in the year of 1912，it has not only been adapted into the movie with the title of My Fair Lady but also has been translated into a variety of foreign languages.Whats more，it enjoys great significance in the field of literature and earns extraordinary status not only for the work itself but for the playwright as well.

Owing to its success，many researchers approach Pygmalion from various aspects：feminism，class distinction and prejudice，comedy color and so on.Apart from these studies mainly centering on Pygmalions theme，its fine language is also explored from perspectives of translation，psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics.Nowadays，great interest has been aroused towards applying pragmatic theories to conversation in literary works for describing character relationships，personality and motivation.Compared with the conversational approaches，the study of Pygmalion from the pragmatic approach is still in its infancy.

The thesis aims to explore the conversational implicature in Pygmalion within the theoretical framework of the Grices cooperative principle and conversational maxims.Herbert Paul Grice pointed out that a successful conversation is the achievements of speaker and listeners endeavor.If they want the conversation to continue or reach the goal they expect，they should adhere to be cooperative to make the conversation go smoothly and successfully.They seem to follow some principles in the conversation like the following：“Make your conversational contribution such as is required，at the stage at which it occurs，by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged.”（Grice 1975：45）This principle is regarded as the cooperative principle or CP in short.Grice originally brought forward the cooperative principle through the William James Lectures at Harvard University in 1967，and later developed it in Logic and Conversation in 1975.Grice introduced the cooperative principle by means of the following four conversational maxims：quantity，quality，relation，manner principles.

Chapter Two Literature Review

2.1 A Brief Introduction to George Bernard Shaw and Pygmalion

George Bernard Shaw was born in Ireland，attended work at the age of 16 and arrived in London with a goal to be a writer when he was 20 years old，although his works were rejected by the publishers for more than once.In 1891，Shaw watched the drama A Dolls House of Ibsen，being totally touched，and decided to be engaged in the drama writing，continuing the career of Ibsen.From the 1990th to the eve of World War I，he had created 18 plays，including the famous Arms and the Man（1894），Mrs.Warrens Profession（1898），Man and Superman（1903），John Bulls Other Island（1904），Major Barbara（1905），Pygmalion（1913），and Saint Joan（1924），etc.All of these plays have got into the list of classic plays and still can be presented on stage today.He is the only person to have been awarded both a Nobel Prize in Literature（1925）and an Oscar（1938），for his contributions to literature and for his work on the film Pygmalion（adaptation of his play of the same name）.Besides，He was also an essayist，novelist and short story writer.Nearly all his writings address prevailing social problems，but have a vein of comedy which makes their stark themes more palatable.As an ardent socialist，Shaw wrote many brochures and speeches for the Fabian Society.He became an accomplished orator in the furtherance of its causes，which included gaining equal rights for men and women，alleviating abuses of the working class，rescinding private ownership of productive land，and promoting healthy lifestyles.

As one of the most popular plays by G.B.Shaw，Pygmalion，named after a Greek mythological character（in ancient Greek mythology，Pygmalion fell in love with one of his sculptures，which then came to life），was first presented on stage to the public in 1912.To prove his opinion about language and class，professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet with his friend Pickering，that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl，Eliza Doolittle，to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party by teaching her to assume a veneer of gentility，the most important element of which，he believes，is impeccable speech.With his teaching，Eliza has learned Standard English，decent talk and elegant manners after repeated imitation training.When she attends an ambassadors party，she is mistaken for being a princess.Higgins accomplishes his perfect work and wins the bet，while Eliza begins to resist his arrogance and discourtesy and get away from his tyranny.Finally，Higgins admits the freedom and independence of Eliza and then Eliza marries another character，F(xiàn)reddy.Shaw lays stress on the social and practical functions of drama and puts more emphasis on the importance of ideas of his play.The play is a humanistic comedy about love，British Hierarchical society and language learning in some degree，as well as a sharp lampoon of the rigid British class system of the day and a commentary on women's independence.Shaw's play has been adapted numerous times，most notably as the musical My Fair Lady and the film of that name.

2.2 Cooperative Principle

The Cooperative Principle serves as the theoretical foundations for this thesis.Thus，its necessary to present a general picture of the developments and applications of the CP at abroad and in China.In Grices opinion，both participants of the conversation must be willing to cooperate with each other.If not，the conversation cannot be carried on.According to Grice，under a general principle there are several special maxims and their secondary maxims.He has set up four relevant maxims under the Cooperative Principle：1）quantity；2）quality；3）relation；4）manner.These maxims are expressed as follows：

1）Quantity：

（1）Make your contribution as is informative as is required（for the current purposes of the exchange）.

（2）Do not make your contribution more informative than is required.

2）Quality：Try to make your contribution one that is true.

（1）Do not say what you believe to be false.

（2）Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.

3）Relation：Be relevant.

4）Manner：Be perspicuous.

（1）Avoid obscurity of expression.

（2）Avoid ambiguity.

（3）Be brief（avoid unnecessary prolixity）.

（4）Be orderly.

Generally speaking，people are supposed to follow these four maxims in order to converse in a maximally efficient，rational and cooperative way.They should speak sincerely，relevantly and clearly，while providing sufficient information.（Levinson，1983）However，distinct from grammatical rules that are viewed as an integral part of a particular language，the four maxims are proved to be “regulative rather than constitutive.”（Levinson 1983）They are not always strictly fulfilled or observed in conversations.

The Cooperative Principle creates a new breakthrough for linguistic research，and has important theoretical value and practical significance.It explains how people indirectly produce conversational implicature to express themselves and how to figure it out.But the CP can not explain why in daily conversation，people prefer to state themselves implicitly and make the hearer to deduce the implied meaning.Owing to this limitation in the CP，there appear many linguists who intend to make a supplement or amendment to the CP.Leech（1983）proposes the Politeness principle as supplement to the CP.Besides，Brown and Levinsons Face Theory is also an important complementary part for the CP.