A study of Authenticity of Conversation in Along Came Polly Based on Grice's Four Maxims

Hye, Jeong Kim

Article

Journal of English Teaching through Movies and Media 2012;13(1):1-17.
Published online March 30, 2012.

A study of Authenticity of Conversation in Along Came Polly Based on Grice's Four Maxims

Abstract

The goal of this study is to present a pragmatic approach to conversation in movies. An answer to the question, 'why are movies so interesting', is suggested, based on a pragmatic approach to language- following Grice's (1975) four maxims of conversation; the maxim of quantity, the maxim of quality, the maxim of relation, the maxim of manner. The study compares the language in a movie with that in two fairly common English conversation textbooks, showing (1) how Grice's four maxims work in conversations in each medium, and (2) how keeping or violating these maxims has an impact on the authenticity of the language. Based on these observations, this study makes a suggestion about the use of textbooks and for the value of movies as study material.

Key Words: movie;maxim;quality;quantity;relation;manner;violation