Top Girls
Task C - Our answer
5. WIN: And you are what age now?
Gricean implicature applies most straightforwardly to statements, but
we can use it in relation to Win's question. Win flouts the maxim of quantity
in that she is asking a question to which she clearly already knows the
answer (Louise's details must have included her date of birth). The structure
of this question is also rather unusual, beginning with the Subject-Predicator
ordering we would normally associate with statements, not questions (compare
the more normal 'And what age are you now?'), but also containing a 'wh-'
question adverb. This statement/question structuring can be related via
Grice's maxim of manner, to the fact that Win does indeed already know
how old Louise is from her form.
6. LOUISE: I'm in my early forties.
Louise's response clearly breaks the maxims of manner and quantity by
not being precise enough, especially as she must know that Win knows her
age from the form. This behaviour seems more likely to be a violation than a flout (it is not at all clear what the implicature could be if she
was flouting the maxims), indicating Louise's discomfort at having to
talk about personal matters.
7. WIN: Exactly?
Win's re-asking of the question in a more specific way clearly re-flouts
the quantity maxim for the reasons already mentioned in the discussion
of turn 6. Win is clearly putting the pressure on Louise.
8. LOUISE: Forty-six.
No maxims broken this time. Louise finally gives in. What should have
been a socially cooperative verbal exchange (Win is trying to help Louise,
after all) has turned out to very uncooperative. Win has had to fight
for the information, but she has finally won, and so can now move on to
explore other issues.
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