Why Grice's Cooperation Principle Violated? : An Indonesian

Sociocultural Context

Fatmawati

, Endry Boeriswati

, Zuriyati

Doctoral Student of Language Education, Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Indonesia

Language Education, Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Indonesia

Keywords: violation of the cooperative principles, maxim of quantity, maxim of quality, maxim of relevance, maxim of

manner, Indonesian sociocultural

Abstract : This study aims to explain the reasons for violating Grice's cooperative principles in the sociocultural

context of Indonesia. This study applied a phenomenology approach. The research data was collected

through interviews with 79 students from various tribes in Indonesia namely the Malay, Minang, Javanese,

Sundanese, Batak, Bugis, and Banjar tribes. The results showed that violations of quantity maxims occurred

due to several reasons, namely: sharing information, being intimate, friendly/not arrogant, polite, in order to

be clear/not to be asked again, refusing in a refined manner, habits, close friends. In the meantime, in quality

maxim violations occurred for reasons of joking, nosy, insinuating, declaring prohibitions, lying, and

annoying/angry. Furthermore, violations of the maxim of relevance occurred because of the context that is

equally understood/habit, because it cannot do what is requested by the interlocutor, subtle refusal/indirect,

in order to be polite, joking, in order the utterance is short, does not know the answer, annoyed, and avoid

direct speech. For the maxim of manner, violations occurred for reasons of being polite, confused in giving

answers, forgetting, nervous, in order the speech partner empathizes, avoids direct speech, because of secret

speeches, certain vocabulary substitutes, niceties, lying, habits, and keeping a good relationship. This study

implies that Grice's cooperative principle cannot be applied universally in all languages. This is because of

the sociocultural context between one language and another is different.

1 INTRODUCTION

Language grows and develops in line with human

civilization. Therefore, language is very

synonymous with the sociocultural user community.

According to Liu(2016), language and culture are

two sides of the same coin that allow individuals to

gain membership in certain societies. The things that

characterize the language user community will

greatly affect the language used. This phenomenon

causes differences in the rules found in each

language, including differences in understanding the

concept of the principle of cooperation in speech

action.

The principle of cooperation was triggered by a

linguist named H. Paul Grice in 1975. Grice

proposed a rule concerning the use of language

which confirms that in all communications there is a

general agreement between speakers and speech

partners called the principle of cooperation. The

principle of this cooperation offers four maxims,

namely: the maxim of quantity, the maxim of

quality, the maxim of relevance, and the maxim of

manner.

In the maxim of quantity, Grice argues that each

participant is expected to be able to contribute as

much or as much as needed by the speech partner.

This information may not exceed the information

actually needed by the speech partner. Speeches that

contain information that is really needed by the

partner can be said to fulfill the maxim of quantity in

the cooperative principle of Grice. However, if the

speech contains excessive information it can be said

to violate the maxim of quantity.

In the maxim of quality, Grice advises each

participant to contribute the correct information. In

other words, both speakers and speech partner do not

say anything that is wrong. In addition, each

conversation contribution should be supported by

Fatmawati, ., Boeriswati, E. and Zuriyati, .

Why Grice’s Cooperation Principle Violated? : An Indonesian Sociocultural Context.

DOI: 10.5220/0008995701510159

In Proceedings of the International Conference on Education, Language and Society (ICELS 2019), pages 151-159

ISBN: 978-989-758-405-3

151

sufficient evidence. Speech participants who follow

the rules suggested by Grice are considered to have

adhered to the principle of cooperation. Conversely,

if the rule is ignored, the speech participant is

declared to have violated the principle of

cooperation of maxim of quality.

In the maxim of relevance, Grice suggests that

the speech participants develop compatibility in

speaking by contributing relevant to the issue of

conversation. In the maxim of relevance,

compatibility must not always be reflected in the

speech delivered by the participants. In certain

contexts, some cursory speeches appear to have no

relationship. However, if it is examined and linked

to the context, there is an implicative relationship

that can be explained.

The last maxim is the maxim of manner. Based

on the concept put forward by Grice, the key to this

maxim is that words are easy to understand. In this

maxim, the important thing is how to express ideas,

opinions, and suggestions to others. Avoid long,

insignificant, unclear or halting speeches, and

utterances that contain ambiguity. If the rule is

obeyed, then the utterance complies with the maxim

of manner.

Problems that occur in the field, the principle of

cooperation proposed by Grice is not fully

applicable. Based on observations in the field, there

were many violations of the four Grice's maxims,

namely maxim of quantity, maxim of quality, maxim

of relevance, and maxim of manner. From a number

of thesis students who examined the principle of

cooperation, most of the results of his research

showed violations of maxims. In addition, in

everyday conversation, Grice's cooperative principle

also experiences violations, especially for maxim of

quantity and maxim of manner. From the results of

these observations, the provisional conclusion that

most violations occurred because of the sociocultural

problems inherent in the speech community.

Therefore, the researchers are interested in

examining the maxims of the cooperation principle

of Grice based on the socialcultural background of

the Indonesian people.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

This research is part of pragmatic research

specifically the study of the principle of cooperation

proposed by Grice. According to

Scriffin(1994)pragmatics is the study of how

interpreters use or include users of signs or

recipients of signs when describing (constructing

interpreters) the sign itself. According to Brown and

Levinson(1987)pragmatics is the study of the

relations between language and context that is

grammatically encoded in the structure of a

language. Regarding its emergence, according

toJafari(2013) pragmatics emerged as an

independent field of study mainly because semantic

failures often occur in providing adequate

explanations regarding meaning. Based on experts'

opinion above, it can be concluded that pragmatics is

a science that discusses the use of language

accompanied by the accompanying context.

The aspect that is quite popular in pragmatic

studies is the cooperative principle of Grice.

According to Grice(1991), in the principle of

cooperation, speakers are expected to contribute

conversations as needed and in accordance with the

context of the occurrence of speech. From the

general principle of the principle of cooperation,

some specific maxims and submissions are derived,

namely the maxim of quantity, quality, relevance,

and manner. Maxim of quantity is related to the

amount of information that will be given. The thing

to consider in this maxim is to make contributions as

accurately as possible (for the purpose of the current

exchange) and do not make contributions more

informative than needed. In the maxim of quality it

is recommended for speakers to make contributions

in the right way. There are two submaxim that are

more specific in this maxim, that is, do not say what

is believed to be wrong and do not say something

that does not have sufficient evidence. In the maxim

of relevance, Grice suggests a single submaxim,

namely, "be relevant". The last maxim is the maxim

of manner. In the maxim of manner, the concept that

must be obeyed is "be easy to understand". To make

comprehension understandable, Grice suggests

several submaxims which are to avoid unclear

expressions, avoid ambiguity, be short (avoid

unnecessary prolixity), and be orderly.

However, in fact, the four maxims of the Grice's

cooperation principle above cannot be applied

universally in every language. In a certain context,

the maxim of the Grice's cooperative principle

experienced a violation. According to

Rohaniyah(2013), flouting maxims is a kind of

violation of the principle of cooperation which

consists of four maxims. In this case, the principle of

cooperation is cooperation between the speaker and

listener to make successful communication. In his

article H. Tupan and Natalia(2008)states that the

principle of cooperation in communication, in some

situations, is not obeyed intentionally with personal

reasons. In line with that opinion, according to

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Peter(2000) basically, whenever a maxim is violated,

there must be an implicature to save speech so as not

to be a wrong contribution in the conversation. In

line with the opinion above, Fang and Xin(2017)also

states that in everyday life, people do not always

follow the principle of cooperation during

communication. If they violate the maxim of the

principle of cooperation there will always be implicit

implications. However, if the listener has the same

knowledge as the speaker, communication can run

smoothly. Based on the above opinion, it can be

concluded that the violation in the Grice's principle

of cooperation is reasonable. When a maxim is

violated, it is necessary to review the implicatures

contained in the utterance. Every violation of

maxims, there are always reasons that accompany it.

Therefore, the context is also a point that must be

involved in understanding a speech. As stated by

Franke(2014)that the use and interpretation of

language is very dependent on context.

The characteristic of a language as well as the

sociocultural background of its speaking community

is thought to be the reason for the violation of the

maxims of the Grice's cooperative principle. This is

in line with the Shi(2014)statement which is that

cultural differences cause communication that is

raised in the relevant culture also varies. More

specifically, Clyne in Herawati(2013)states that

there are cooperative principles in each context of

discourse, but how to build them depends on the

discourse patterns of each culture. However, to fit

the cultural variations, Grice must be culturally

adapted to meet the cultural norms, values, and

identities of each society.

Reasons for violating the maxims of Grice's

cooperative principles vary according to the context

of speech. According to Zienkowski, Osman and

Verschueren(2011), not all jokes involve violating

one or more Grice's maxims. This is in line with the

results of the study conducted by Rochmawati(2017)

which concluded that humor or jokes present

violations of Grice's (1957) cooperation maxims,

namely the maxim of quality, quantity, manner, and

relevance. Furthermore, Lili(2012)in her article

stated that the reason for violating the maxims of the

principle of cooperation could also be because

someone tries to provide additional information and

accidentally makes a problem in social interaction.

It still related to the reason for violating the

principle of cooperation, Norwanto(2006)states that

politicians ignore the principles of regular

cooperation. Politicians violate the maxim of

quantity to express strong commitments or hide

information. Politicians also provide false

information and violate maxim of quality. In

addition, politicians also ignore the maxim of

relevance by saying something that is not related to

the topic being discussed. More broadly,

Chaer(2010)states that the reason for violating the

principle of cooperative maxim is due to a number

of things, namely: the willingness of the participants

to contribute more in speech, the reaction to the

partner's answers, the desire to make the atmosphere

funny or have an effect of humor, and an effort to

make the information conveyed is vague.

Meanwhile, according to H. Tupan and

Natalia(2008), figures in the film Desperate

Housewives violating maxims as a strategy to lie.

Reasons for lying vary from person to person

according to the goals they want to achieve.

Violations of the maxims also occur because the

character wants to eliminate the possibility of the

other person to respond so that the other person does

not ask questions again so that the person can reach

his goal easily.

Based on the explanation above, it can be

concluded that the maxims in the Grice's cooperative

principle are violated for several reasons. The

reasons for the violation are as follows: a) the

willingness of the participant to contribute more

(additional information) in the discussion, b) the

reaction to the partner's answers, c) the desire to

make the atmosphere funny or to create a humorous

effect, d) the attempts to make the information

submitted vague, e) as a strategy for lying, f)

eliminating the possibility of the other person

responding to speech.

3 METHODOLOGY

This study applied a qualitative approach. According

to Creswell(2008), a qualitative approach is a

research approach that has most of the data in the

form of words or text. Thus, data collection and data

analysis are based on words or texts that have been

obtained based on general questions that have been

formulated. The method used was phenomenology.

This method is used to find out in detail the

phenomenon of reasons for violating the principle of

cooperation carried out by students of the Indonesian

Language and Literature Education Study Program

FKIP UIR. This research is descriptive because

every data collected is presented in accordance with

the reality found in the field. The data collection

techniques used are observation, interviews, skillful

listening techniques, recording, feedback techniques,

and writing techniques.

Why Grice’s Cooperation Principle Violated? : An Indonesian Sociocultural Context

153

The data sources of this study were 79

Indonesian Language and Literature Education

Study Program FKIP UIR students. The reason for

taking this data source is because of the diversity of

tribes that exist in students of Indonesian Language

and Literature Education Study Program FKIP UIR.

The research data was collected from 79 students

from several tribes in Indonesia, namely Malays,

Minang, Javanese, Sundanese, Batak, Bugis, and

Banjarese.

4 DISCUSSION

After conducting interviews with 79 students, there

were several reasons for violating the Grice's

cooperation principle. The following are the findings

of the research related to the reasons for violating

Grice's cooperation principle by students of the

Indonesian Language and Literature Education

Study Program FKIR UIR based on sociocultural

background. The reason for violating the Grice's

principle includes four maxims, namely the maxim

of quantity, the maxim of quality, the maxim of

relevance, and the maxim of manner.

4.1 Reasons for Violating Maxim of

Quantity

In the maxim of quantity, violations of maxim are

caused by several things. First, violation of the

maxim of quantity occurs because of the desire to

share information from speakers and speech

partners. This is in line with the results of research

conducted by Lili(2012)which states that the reason

for violating the maxim of the principle of

cooperation can also be because someone tries to

provide additional information and accidentally

creates problems in social interactions. Of the 79

students who were respondents, 24 of them claimed

to provide excessive information than what was

needed by the speech partners for reasons of wanting

to share information. This shows that violations of

the maxim of quantity are precisely efforts made by

speakers so that their speech partners understand and

speech becomes more cooperative. This is precisely

the opposite of the principle of cooperation maxim

that was sparked by Grice. Grice argues that speech

will be considered cooperative and obeying the

maxim of quantity if the information delivered is no

more than what is needed by the partner.

Second, violations of the maxim of quantity

occur because of the desire to be familiar. The

reason for this familiarity was expressed by 14

respondents during the interview. According to

them, if the speech partner only responds according

to what is requested by the speaker, familiarity will

not be established. They assume that by providing a

lot of information in speaking, the context of speech

will be warm. The warmth will lead to comfort in

speaking so that communication will run well.

Third, violations of the maxim of quantity occur

because of the desire to be friendly / not arrogant. Of

the 79 students who were respondents, 22 of them

claimed to provide excessive information than what

was needed by the speech partners for reasons of

wanting to be friendly / not arrogant. The

sociocultural background of the students is very

influential on their attitude in speaking. Although

they are from various tribes, they are in the Riau

region, where most of the people are Malay. In

Malay culture, friendliness is the hallmark of the

community. Therefore, it is natural that in speaking

they will put forward a friendly attitude. The

hospitality is reflected in their habits in giving

responses that seem excessive in speaking. This

causes a violation of the quantity maxim.

Fourth, violations of the maxim of quantity occur

because of politeness. Five of the 79 respondents

said that they gave excessive information than what

was needed by the speech partners because of

reasons to be polite. They assume that providing

information as limited as what is requested by the

partner is an attitude that is impolite. Culture has

shaped them that respect for speech is part of

politeness. The award can be in the form of

providing a maximum response to the questions

raised by the speaking partner with a friendly facial

expression.

Fifth, violations of the maxim of quantity occur

because of the reason that the information submitted

is clear / does not raise further questions. Of the 79

students who were respondents, 28 of them claimed

to provide excessive information than what was

needed by the speech partners because of the reason

that the information submitted was clear / it did not

raise more questions. Based on the sociocultural

background, concern for the speech partner is the

most dominant reason for the violation carried out

by students of the Indonesian Language and

Literature Education Study Program FKIP UIR. The

habit of providing detailed information on the

questions posed by the speech partners shows that

the Indonesian Language and Literature Education

Study Program FKIP UIR students are trying to

provide the best information to their partners.

Through this detailed information, it is expected that

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the partner will be helped and can understand

clearly.

Sixth, violations of the maxim of quantity occur

for reasons of refusing refinement. 1 out of 79

respondents claimed to provide excessive

information than what was needed by the speech

partner for reasons of refusing in kind. Sometimes

the speech participants cannot do what their partner

asks. However, because they do not want to make

the partner feel offended or disappointed, a number

of reasons are presented in great detail. The efforts

made caused violations of the quantity maxim.

Seventh, violations of the maxim of quantity

occur due to habitual reasons. Of the 79 respondents,

10 of whom claimed to provide excessive

information than what was needed by the speech

partner for habitual reasons. When the speech event

takes place, they feel it just happens. Therefore, they

assume that providing excessive information than

what is needed by the speech partner is a habit.

Eighth, violations of the maxim of quantity occur

due to reasons of close friends. Five of the 79

respondents said that they gave excessive

information than what was needed by the speech

partner because of the reason of having close

relations with the speech partner. The familiar

feeling that made them feel free to discuss anything

with their partner. This also applies when responding

to speeches, the familiarity that makes the speaker

responds in great detail to what the partner is asking,

including things that the partner does not ask.

From the results of research on the reasons for

violating the maxim of quantity in the Grice's

principle of cooperation, several research findings

were obtained. First, the quantity maxim in Grice's

cooperation principle is irrelevant to be applied to

the speech of Indonesian Language and Literature

Education Study Program FKIP UIR with the

sociocultural background inherent in each student.

Second, the concept of quantity that was sparked by

Grice contradicts the concept of quantity that is

understood by students with cultural backgrounds

that exist in each student. This is in line with the

results of research conducted by

Herawati(2013)which states that the application of

quantity maxim will be culturally dependent and will

be different if observed in Indonesian culture.If

Grice mentions that cooperative speech is as

informative as possible, for students, instead the

cooperative speech is a speech that provides detailed

information equipped with additional information.

Third, as long as the Grice's maxim of quantity is

used as a theory to analyze the speech of the people

in Riau, violations of maxims will always occur.

4.2 Reasons for Violating the Maxim of

Quality

In the maxim of quality, the occurrence of violations

of maxim is caused by several things. First,

violations of the maxim of quality occur because of

joking factors. According to Lili(2012), in social

interactions, humor is treated as a lubricant because

it can help ease social tensions, convey friendly

intentions, and strengthen social ties. Joking is one

of the characteristics of the Riau community. In the

context of casual conversation, it is not uncommon

for conversations to be interspersed with jokes that

cause laughter and increase the familiarity of the

participants. Of the 79 respondents, 36 of them

provided information that was not in accordance

with the facts for reasons of joking.

Second, violations of the maxim of quality occur

because of nosy factors. There were 2 respondents

who said that they provided information that was

incorrect and in accordance with the facts because of

nosy reasons. However, this is done only to speech

partners who have emotional closeness with

speakers.

Third, the reason for violating the maxim of

quality also occurs because of satirical reasons.

There were 31 respondents who provided

information that was not in accordance with the

actual facts on the grounds that they wanted to

insinuate their partners. They were packaged with

insinuations through inaccurate speeches. They

argue that by making satire, the intentions to be

conveyed are more quickly realized. In addition, if

the speech is told directly, they are worried that their

partner will be offended.

Fourth, violations of the maxim of quality occur

because they want to declare prohibitions. There

were two respondents who stated the prohibition by

using non-real speech. According to them, such a

ban is more effective than the prohibition that is

packaged in direct speech. The effects arising from

the prohibition on using non-actual sentences are

directly felt by the speech partners and usually there

are no comments from people who are prohibited.

Fifth, violations of the maxim of quality occur

for reasons of lying. Of the 79 respondents, six of

whom conveyed information that was not true for

reasons of wanting to cover up something or lie.

Lying is not a commendable attitude, but they

assume that they are lying to avoid problems.

Sixth, the reason for violating the maxim of

quality also occurs for reasons of being upset or

angry. Of the 79 respondents, 24 of them delivered

incorrect information for reasons of being upset /

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angry. When feeling upset or angry, they often use

non-actual sentences to vent their frustration or

anger, especially if they are upset or angry with

close friends or peers. However, usually their choice

not to use speech that is not actually makes the

situation better. This is because his partner

immediately understands the context of speech and

smiles facing his friend who is upset or angry.

From the results of research on the reasons for

violating the maxim of quality in the Grice's

principle of cooperation, some research findings

were obtained. First, for certain contexts, the maxim

of quality is deliberately violated in order to have an

effect on the said partner. Second, for the academic

situation and formal situation, the maxim of quality

is relevant to the Riau community with various

sociocultural backgrounds. Third, the Grice's maxim

of quality is not a standard that must be followed by

all languages, because there are several factors that

do not allow the Grice's maxim of quality to be

applied. In fact, if forced to apply, the speech event

becomes rigid and does not develop.

4.3 Reasons for Violating the Maxim of

Relevance

In the maxim of relevance, the occurrence of

violations of maxim is caused by several things.

First, violations of the maxim of relevance occur

because the context of conversation is equally

understood/habit. There were 13 respondents who

made this factor as an excuse for not making

relevant contributions about something that was

being discussed. The same understanding of a

context makes speech participants easier to

contribute to a conversation. Although at first glance

the speech seems irrelevant, but because it is helped

by the context, conversation becomes easy to

understand.

Second, violations of the maxim of relevance

occur because they cannot do what the speech

partner asks. The limitation in fulfilling the wishes

of the speech partners also causes speakers to choose

to use speeches that are not relevant to what is said

by the partners. There were five respondents who

used this method to respond to their speech partner.

Usually, they respond to the speech of their partner

by stating a number of reasons so that their partner

understands that the reason stated is a manifestation

of his inability to fulfill his partner's invitation or

order. They also assumed that by giving a response

by stating the reasons, the partner would not be

offended.

Third, violation of the maxim of relevance

occurs because speakers try to do refusal in a subtle /

indirect manner. This factor is the reason most

respondents do. Of the 79 respondents, 49 of them

made irrelevant contributions about something that

was being discussed for reasons of wanting to refuse

in a subtle/indirect manner. Usually, rejection speech

is packaged in the form of responses that are

included for interrelated reasons. This is done so that

the partner does not feel embarrassed or offended by

the refusal made.

Fourth, violations of the maxim of relevance

occur because of politeness. Efforts to be polite were

also the reason 4 respondents gave irrelevant

contributions about something that was being

discussed. The reason for this politeness is related to

the reason for subtle refusal. In certain contexts the

speech participants are faced with a situation that is

supposed to provide an irrelevant response so that

the speech becomes more polite so that it does not

make the partner offended.

Fifth, violations of the maxim of relevance occur

because of joking factors. There were four

respondents who also gave irrelevant responses for

joking reasons. This situation usually occurs when

speaking with peers or close friends. The aim is to

make speech more interesting and the participants

become more familiar.

Sixth, violations of the maxim of relevance occur

so that speech becomes brief. There were seven

respondents who gave responses that were not

relevant to the purpose so that the speech was brief.

This usually happens because the partner does not

have sufficient knowledge of the topic being

discussed. In addition, this can also be triggered

because the medium partner is not interested in

discussing the topic being discussed.

Seventh, violation of the maxim of relevance

occurs because the speech partner does not know the

answer to what must be given. Same as the reason

for point six above, this usually happens because the

partner does not have sufficient knowledge of the

topic being discussed. Of the 79 respondents, three

of them said that their limited knowledge made them

make irrelevant contributions in the conversation.

Eighth, violation of the maxim of relevance

occurs because the speaker is annoyed. One

respondent gave a response that was irrelevant to the

stimulus given by his speech partner for reasons of

annoyance. This usually occurs because of the lack

of ability of the speech participants to understand the

privacy and feelings of their speech partners.

Ninth, the reason for violating the maxim of

relevance is an attempt to avoid direct speech. Of the

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79 respondents, 4 of them gave responses that were

irrelevant to the stimulus given by their partner for

this reason. Usually, efforts to avoid direct speech

are carried out with the aim of prohibiting.

From the results of research on the reasons for

violating the maxim of relevance in the Grice's

principle of cooperation, several research findings

were obtained. First, relevance does not have to be

reflected in speech. Many utterances that are

invisible are irrelevant, but with an understanding of

the context of speech becomes very relevant.

Second, in certain situations, precisely the relevance

of speech is avoided because it can cause problems

such as offense and feelings of disappointment.

4.4 Reasons for Violating the Maxim of

Manner

In the maxim of manner, violations of maxim are

caused by several things. First, violations of the

maxim of manner occur because of reasons for

wanting to be polite. A total of 28 people from 79

respondents claimed that they provided information

that was not short, ambiguous, and unclear

expressions for reasons of being polite. According to

them, this is done because in their culture there are

certain contexts which actually require the

participants to make small talk in speaking. The

small talk causes speech to be short and even

convoluted. However, according to them it is more

effective to be used, for example in the context of

asking for help from others, owing, and governing.

Second, violations of the maxim of manner occur

because of confusing reasons to provide answers to

questions raised by the speech partners. A total of

seven respondents gave information that was not

short, ambiguous, unclear expressions, and halting

because of limited knowledge in providing responses

requested by the partners. In the above conditions,

they usually will halt in providing explanations.

Third, violations of the maxim of manner occur

for reasons of forgetting. Of the 79 respondents, 15

of them claimed that they would give a response that

was unclear or ambiguous for reasons of forgetting.

When they forget something that their partner is

asking or something they want to convey, usually

the speaker will use the words 'me', 'what', and 'that'

as a reference for the word in question. However,

communication continues because the context of the

conversation is very helpful for the participants in

understanding the purpose of the conversation.

Fourth, violations of the maxim of manner occur

because of nervous reasons. When nervous a person

will make a sound of trembling, stuttering, and

hurrying in speaking. This condition usually occurs

when someone is faced with someone who has a

higher social status, such as a teacher, lecturer, boss,

especially in a formal situation. Feeling nervous

makes the speech utterly halting and unclear. Of the

79 respondents, 13 of them claimed that they gave

an unclear and halting response due to nervous

reasons.

Fifth, violations of the maxim of manner occur

because of the reason that the speech partners

empathize. The sub maxim that is usually violated is

related to the efficiency of the use of speech. In

certain contexts, according to them a long speech is

needed to get the sympathy of the partners. For

example, when you want to borrow money. They

claim, the longer and more detailed the explanation

they say, the more likely the partners will empathize.

This is because in the long explanation they can

insert stories about the difficulties they are facing.

Of the 79 respondents, 17 of them expressed

excessive speech because of the reason that their

partners were empathetic.

Sixth, violations of the maxim of manner maxim

occur because of reasons to avoid direct speech. The

sub maxim which is usually violated is sub maxim

which is related to ambiguity. Seven respondents

claimed that they chose to use ambiguous speech so

that their speech became effective and more polite.

They create ambiguity through indirect speech.

Seventh, violations of the maxim of manner

occur because speech is confidential. Four

respondents ignored the maxim of manner because

the reason for the speech spoken was confidential.

Usually when speaking the secret utterances the

participants choose to say ambiguously so that the

secret is unknown to others around them. In other

contexts, they choose to use the code or movement

of the limbs to convey the secret message to the said

partner.

Eighth, violations of the maxim of manner occur

because of reasons for certain vocabulary

substitutes. Of the 79 respondents, 20 of them

ignored the maximal manner because they wanted to

change a certain vocabulary. This is usually related

to politeness. In certain contexts, the vocabulary that

is considered taboo to be pronounced will be

replaced with another vocabulary that has different

meanings but is culturally understood by the

participants.

Ninth, violations of the maxim of manner occur

because they want to make small talk with the

partner. Friendliness that is characteristic of Riau

society, makes the culture of niceties become

commonplace. Often, the participants give a long

Why Grice’s Cooperation Principle Violated? : An Indonesian Sociocultural Context

157

and excessive response from what their partner

needs because they want to develop familiarity. The

arrogant stigma is even pinned on people who are

lacking in small talk. They assume that people who

are capable of small talk are cooperative people.

Tenth, violations of the maxim of manner occur

for reasons of lying. Two respondents ignored the

maxim of manner for reasons of lying. They say that

when there is something they cover usually they will

answer with convoluted answers to avoid the actual

facts. In addition, they also use obscure expressions

when lying. They show serious expressions even

though this is only to trick the partner.

Eleventh, violations of the maxim of manner

occur due to habitual reasons. Of the 79 respondents,

two of whom claimed to provide information that

was not short, ambiguous, halting, and unclear

expressions for habitual reasons. When the speech

event takes place, they feel it just happens.

Therefore, they assume that the response given is a

habit.

Twelfth, violations of the maxim of manner

occur because of the reason for wanting to maintain

good relations with the said partner. One respondent

ignored the maxim of manner for this reason. This

reason is also related to modesty. According to him,

using convoluted speech indirectly, he is also trying

to maintain good relations with his partner. If

delivered directly, he is worried that his partner will

feel uncomfortable. This usually happens when

speakers expect help from their partners.

From the results of the research on the reasons

for violating the maxim of manner in the Grice's

principle of cooperation, some research findings

were obtained. First, the maxim of manner in the

Grice's cooperative principle is not relevant to the

speech of Indonesian Language and Literature

Education Study Program FKIP UIR with the

sociocultural background inherent in each student.

Second, the manner concept that was sparked by

Grice contradicts the manner concept understood by

students. If Grice mentions that cooperative speech

is a short, clear, collapsed, and unambiguous speech,

for students it is precisely in many cooperative

speech situations that it must ignore it all for reasons

of politeness. Third, as long as the maxim of manner

of Grice's is used as a theory to analyze the speech

of the people in Riau, violations of maxim will

always occur.

5 CONCLUSIONS

After analyzing the research data, the following

conclusions are summarized. First, the cooperative

principle offered by Grice cannot be universally

applied in all languages. This is because every

language has its own uniqueness. In addition, the

culture of a language will greatly influence

cooperative or non-cooperative speech.

Secondly, violations of the principle of

cooperation in the speech of Indonesian Language

and Literature Education Study Program FKIP UIR

are caused by a number of factors that are closely

related to the culture in Riau.

Third, the maxim of quantity is the reason for

violating the most dominant maxims because of the

efforts of the speakers and the speech partners so

that the speech is clear so that it does not cause the

same questions related to the information provided.

This shows that based on sociocultural, Indonesian

Language and Literature Education Study Program

students FKIP UIR highly prioritizes the comfort of

their speech partners in communicating. This is

indicated by his willingness to provide a number of

information that can satisfy his partner's curiosity.

Fourth, at the maxim of quality, the most reason

for violation of maxims is joking factors. This shows

that based on sociocultural, Indonesian Language

and Literature Education Study Program FKIP UIR

students have a high sense of humor.

Fifth, at the maxim of relevance, the most reason

for violating the maxim is due to the effort to give

refusal in a subtle / indirect manner. This subtle /

indirect rejection also shows that based on

sociocultural, Indonesian Language and Literature

Education Study Program students of UIR FKIP

highly uphold the principle of politeness in speaking,

including in the context of rejection speech. This is

done so that the partner does not feel offended or

uncomfortable in communicating.

Sixth, at the maxim of relevance, of the most

reason for violation the maxim is reason for

politeness. This shows that based on sociocultural,

Indonesian Language and Literature Education

Study Program students of FKIP UIR have applied

Malay culture in Riau. In Malay culture, politeness

is related to problems of shame, courtesy, and adat.

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