Maxim of manner - Revision history

NBlöcher: /* See also */

2014-07-13T12:34:18Z

NBlöcher: /* See also */

2014-07-13T12:33:55Z

Volker gast: based on a term paper by Marion Paulick

2010-02-04T18:46:09Z

based on a term paper by Marion Paulick

Volker gast at 18:43, 4 February 2010

2010-02-04T18:43:35Z

Volker gast at 18:41, 4 February 2010

2010-02-04T18:41:49Z

Volker gast at 19:20, 15 September 2009

2009-09-15T19:20:56Z

Volker gast at 19:20, 15 September 2009

2009-09-15T19:20:46Z

Volker gast: Created page with 'In semantics/pragmatics, the Gricean maxims are communicative principles that were proposed by H.P. Grice as an elaboration of his Cooperative Principle. The '''Maxim...'

2009-05-24T07:31:09Z

Created page with 'In semantics/pragmatics, the Gricean maxims are communicative principles that were proposed by H.P. Grice as an elaboration of his Cooperative Principle. The '''Maxim...'

New page

In semantics/pragmatics, the [[Gricean maxims]] are communicative principles that were proposed by [[H.P. Grice]] as an elaboration of his [[Cooperative Principle]]. The '''Maxim of Manner''' makes the following requirements:

:‘Be perspicuous’
:1 Avoid obscurity of expression.
:2 Avoid ambiguity.
:3 Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity).
:4 Be orderly.

===Link===
[http://www2.let.uu.nl/Uil-OTS/Lexicon/ Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics]

===References===
* Atlas, J. and S. Levinson (1981) It-clefts, informativeness, and logical form, In: P. Cole ed., Radical Pragmatics, 1-61, New York: Academic Press
* Horn, Lawrence. (1984) Toward a new taxonomy for pragmatic inference: Q-based and R-based implicature, In: D. Schiffrin ed., Meaning, Form and Use in Context (GURT '84), 11-42, Washington: Georgetown University Press
* Sperber, D. and D. Wilson (1986) ''Relevance: Communication and Cognition'', Oxford: Blackwell

{{dc}}
[[Category:Semantics]]
[[Category:Pragmatics]]

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 * [[Maxim of relevance]]
 * [[Maxim of quality]]
 ===Links===

@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 ==See also==
-* M-Principle
+* [[M-Principle]]
 ===Links===
@@ Line 45: / Line 47: @@
 * [http://books.google.de/books?id=LSJbj_GQBcoC&pg=PA221&lpg=PA221&dq=maxim+of+manner+horn&source=bl&ots=wBmVtbukZu&sig=Jg2R5iqZd03BnspEw4yxLp9YduY&hl=de&ei=LwDCSs_5LseG4Qbl_5WLCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6#v=onepage&q=maxim%20of%20manner%20horn&f=false books.Google.de Horn - Maxim of Manner. Semantics and Pragmatics: Meaning in Language and Discourse. 29 Sept 2009]
 * [http://books.google.de/books?id=lW36ropcz9wC&pg=PA128&lpg=PA128&dq=levinson+2000+Q,+I+M+principle&source=bl&ots=LHnUY1CQGw&sig=ldNNT5xlwPMRiaFRUIyxIh7FWTY&hl=de&ei=vwbCSq2XAZSw4QatsZSLCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=levinson%202000%20Q%2C%20I%20M%20principle&f=false books.Google.de Levinson 2000 - Q,I,M Principle. Zitat und Bedeutung. 29 Sept 2009]
 ===References===

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 *I: "Say as little as necessary, that is produce the minimal linguistic information sufficient to achieve your communicational ends (bearing the Q-principal in mind)." (Levinson 2000: 114)
-Furthermore, Levinson refers to 'heuristics', which (roughly) correspond to Grice’s maxims. Heuristics are "constraints that limit the search space of sets of premises" (Levinson 2000: 31) in connection with communicative intentions. There are three heuristics:
+Furthermore, Levinson refers to 'heuristics', i.e. "constraints that limit the search space of sets of premises" (Levinson 2000: 31) in connection with communicative intentions. There are three heuristics:
 *What isn’t said, isn’t
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 *What’s said in an abnormal way, isn’t normal; or Marked message indicates marked situation
-The first heuristic ('Q-heuristic') corresponds to the first submaxim and the second one ('I-heuristic') to the second submaxim of the Maxim of Quantity. The third heuristic ('M-heuristic') refers to the maxim of manner, in particular to the rule ''avoid obscurity of expression''. Levinson argues that on the basis of the H-heuristic, stereotypical and complementary interpretations can be achieved: "what is said simply, briefly, in an unmarked way picks up a stereotypical interpretation; if in contrast a marked expression is used, it is suggested that the stereotypical interpretation should be avoided." (Levinson 2000:38). Levinson substantiates his argument with the following example including double negation (Levinson 2000: 39):
+The first heuristic ('Q-heuristic') corresponds to the first submaxim and the second one ('I-heuristic') to the second submaxim of the Maxim of Quantity. The third heuristic ('M-heuristic') relates to the maxim of manner, in particular to the rule ''avoid obscurity of expression''. Levinson argues that on the basis of the H-heuristic, stereotypical and complementary interpretations can be achieved: "what is said simply, briefly, in an unmarked way picks up a stereotypical interpretation; if in contrast a marked expression is used, it is suggested that the stereotypical interpretation should be avoided." (Levinson 2000: 38). Levinson substantiates his argument with the following example including double negation (Levinson 2000: 39):
 *"It’s possible the plane will be late." ->Simple positive suggests that the plane may be late as this is often the case.
@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 * A: I hear you went to the opera last night; how was the lead singer?
-* B: The singer produced a series of sounds corresponding closely to the score of an aria from 'Rigoletto'. (Levinson 1983: ***)
+* B: The singer produced a series of sounds corresponding closely to the score of an aria from 'Rigoletto'. (Levinson 1983)
 B flouts the maxim of manner, as the sentence is unnecessarily prolix.

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:43, 4 February 2010
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	An elaboration of the Gricean maxim of manner was proposed by Leech (1983: 100), who distinguishes two kinds of clarity: "One kind consists in making unambiguous use of syntax and phonology of the language in order to construct a clear text. Another type [...] consists in framing a clear message, ie a message which is perspicuous or intelligible in the sense of conveying the intended illocutionary goal to the addressee."		An elaboration of the Gricean maxim of manner was proposed by Leech (1983: 100), who distinguishes two kinds of clarity: "One kind consists in making unambiguous use of syntax and phonology of the language in order to construct a clear text. Another type [...] consists in framing a clear message, ie a message which is perspicuous or intelligible in the sense of conveying the intended illocutionary goal to the addressee."
		+
		+	Horn (1984) suggests that all maxims (except of the Maxim of Quality) should be replaced with two principles: the Q(uantity) principle and the R(elation) principle. With respect to the maxim of manner, the R principle states: "Make your contribution necessary; say no more than you must (given Q)." (Horn 1984: 134). With respect to manner, the two principle ''maximization of informational content'' (avoidance of ambiguity/obscurity) and ''minimization of form'' (be brief) are identified Horn.
		+
		+	Levinson (2000) distinguishes between minimization of content and minimization of form where general and shorter expressions are favored. He states a 'Q-' and an 'I-principle'.
		+
		+	*Q: "Do not provide a statement that is informationally weaker than your knowledge of the world allows, unless providing a stronger statement would contravene the I-principle." (Levinson 2000: 76)
		+	*I: "Say as little as necessary, that is produce the minimal linguistic information sufficient to achieve your communicational ends (bearing the Q-principal in mind)." (Levinson 2000: 114)
		+
		+	Furthermore, Levinson refers to 'heuristics', which (roughly) correspond to Grice’s maxims. Heuristics are "constraints that limit the search space of sets of premises" (Levinson 2000: 31) in connection with communicative intentions. There are three heuristics:
		+
		+	*What isn’t said, isn’t
		+	*What is simply described is stereotypically exemplified
		+	*What’s said in an abnormal way, isn’t normal; or Marked message indicates marked situation
		+
		+	The first heuristic ('Q-heuristic') corresponds to the first submaxim and the second one ('I-heuristic') to the second submaxim of the Maxim of Quantity. The third heuristic ('M-heuristic') refers to the maxim of manner, in particular to the rule ''avoid obscurity of expression''. Levinson argues that on the basis of the H-heuristic, stereotypical and complementary interpretations can be achieved: "what is said simply, briefly, in an unmarked way picks up a stereotypical interpretation; if in contrast a marked expression is used, it is suggested that the stereotypical interpretation should be avoided." (Levinson 2000:38). Levinson substantiates his argument with the following example including double negation (Levinson 2000: 39):
		+
		+	*"It’s possible the plane will be late." ->Simple positive suggests that the plane may be late as this is often the case.
		+	*"It’s not possible that the plane will be late." ->Double negative shows that there is a rather minor possibility.
		+

	==Examples==		==Examples==

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 * M-Principle
-===Link===
+===Links===
-[http://www2.let.uu.nl/Uil-OTS/Lexicon/ Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics]
+* [http://www2.let.uu.nl/Uil-OTS/Lexicon/ Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics]
 ===References===
-* Atlas, J. and S. Levinson (1981) It-clefts, informativeness, and logical form, In: P. Cole ed., Radical Pragmatics, 1-61, New York: Academic Press
+* Atlas, J. and S. Levinson (1981) It-clefts, informativeness, and logical form, In: P. Cole ed., Radical Pragmatics, 1-61, New York: Academic Press.
 * Horn, Lawrence. (1984) Toward a new taxonomy for pragmatic inference: Q-based and R-based implicature, In: D. Schiffrin ed., Meaning, Form and Use in Context (GURT '84), 11-42, Washington: Georgetown University Press.
-* Levinson, S. 2000. ''Presumptive Meanings: The Theory of Generalized Conversational Implicature''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
+* Grice, H.P. (1975). Logic and Conversation. In: P. Cole and J.L. Morgan (eds.), ''Syntax and Semantics 3: Speech Acts'', 41-58. New York: Academic Press.
 * Sperber, D. and D. Wilson (1986) ''Relevance: Communication and Cognition'', Oxford: Blackwell.
-{{stub}}
 {{dc}}
 [[Category:Semantics]]
 [[Category:Pragmatics]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-In semantics/pragmatics, the [[Gricean maxims]] are communicative principles that were proposed by [[H.P. Grice]] as an elaboration of his [[Cooperative Principle]]. The '''Maxim of Manner''' makes the following requirements:
+The '''maxim of manner''' is one of the Gricean [[conversational maxim]]s which constitute the [[Cooperative Principle]]. It makes the following requirements:
-:‘Be perspicuous’
+* ‘Be perspicuous’
-:1 Avoid obscurity of expression.
+** Avoid obscurity of expression.
-:2 Avoid ambiguity.
+** Avoid ambiguity.
-:3 Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity).
+** Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity).
-:4 Be orderly.
+** Be orderly.
 ===Link===
@@ Line 12: / Line 26: @@
 ===References===
 * Atlas, J. and S. Levinson (1981) It-clefts, informativeness, and logical form, In: P. Cole ed., Radical Pragmatics, 1-61, New York: Academic Press
-* Horn, Lawrence. (1984) Toward a new taxonomy for pragmatic inference: Q-based and R-based implicature, In: D. Schiffrin ed., Meaning, Form and Use in Context (GURT '84), 11-42, Washington: Georgetown University Press
+* Horn, Lawrence. (1984) Toward a new taxonomy for pragmatic inference: Q-based and R-based implicature, In: D. Schiffrin ed., Meaning, Form and Use in Context (GURT '84), 11-42, Washington: Georgetown University Press.
-* Sperber, D. and D. Wilson (1986) ''Relevance: Communication and Cognition'', Oxford: Blackwell
+* Levinson, S. 2000. ''Presumptive Meanings: The Theory of Generalized Conversational Implicature''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
 {{dc}}
 [[Category:Semantics]]
 [[Category:Pragmatics]]