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Levels and types of breaking the maxims: A neo-Gricean account of humor

  • Attila L. Nemesi

    Attila L. Nemesi is Associate Professor at the Department of Hungarian Linguistics, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Hungary. He received his Ph.D. at the University of Szeged, Hungary, in 2008. His research interests span from pragmatics to interpersonal and societal communication (e.g., implicature, figurative language, humor, impression management, persuasion). One of his recent papers is “Implicature phenomena in classical rhetoric” (Journal of Pragmatics 50: 129–151).

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Published/Copyright: May 22, 2015
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Abstract

On the basis of examples drawn from seven classic Hungarian film comedies, I argue in this article that the place of humor within the Gricean–Leechian model needs to be revisited and extended towards social psychological pragmatics to account for a wider range of humorous material. Scrutinizing the relevant controversial details of Grice’s conceptual framework, my concern is to find a practical way of fitting the various forms of humor into an adequate (and not an idealistic) pragmatic theory. I propose to differentiate between two levels and five types of breaking the maxims, introducing the Self-interest Principle (SiP) supposed to be in constant tension with, and as rational as, Grice’s Cooperative Principle. Politeness and self-presentational phenomena are subsumed under the operation of the SiP which embraces and coordinates the speaker’s own personal and interpersonal purposes.

About the author

Attila L. Nemesi

Attila L. Nemesi is Associate Professor at the Department of Hungarian Linguistics, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Hungary. He received his Ph.D. at the University of Szeged, Hungary, in 2008. His research interests span from pragmatics to interpersonal and societal communication (e.g., implicature, figurative language, humor, impression management, persuasion). One of his recent papers is “Implicature phenomena in classical rhetoric” (Journal of Pragmatics 50: 129–151).

Acknowledgment

I am grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their critical comments that have enabled me to correct and clarify some points of the paper. Any remaining shortcomings are solely my own responsibility.

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Published Online: 2015-5-22
Published in Print: 2015-6-1

©2015 by De Gruyter Mouton

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