Don Fallis and Andreas Stokke propose that the classical definition of lying is inadequate due to the insistence on deceptive doxastic goals. Such goals have been proven problematic in the light of baldface lying. Both Fallis and Stokke argue that baldface lying are actual instances of lying and that a valid definition of lying should therefore include these. They suggest that lies be understood in a pragmatic framework and ground their definitions in the linguistic tradition following Paul Grice and Robert Stalnaker, respectively. Lies are to be understood as conscious breaches of pragmatic maxims. In this essay I show that Fallis project fails due to limitations inherent to Grice theory of communication. Andreas Stokke definition, on the other hand, building on the work of Jonathan Cohen and Robert Stalnaker, turns out to be a beautiful explication of the classical definition of lying – that besides managing the extensional problem that baldface lies pose also succeeds in making them intelligible epistemically. However, I argue that his categorical rejection of a necessary deceptive condition is refuted by his own definition and theoretical build up. Contrary to Stokke’s own conviction, I thus maintain that his contribution be understood as a significant vindication of the deceptive theory of lying. Finally, lies told by young children seem to pose as great a problem for non-deceptive theories of lying as baldface lies did for deceptive theories.

The historical development of Morris’ tripartite distinction between syntax, semantics and pragmatics does not follow a smooth path. Examining definitions of the terms ‘semantic’ and ‘pragmatic’ and the phenomena they have been used to describe, provides insight into alternative approaches to the semantics/pragmatics distinction. Paul Grice’s work receives particular attention and taxonomy of philosophical positions, roughly divisible into content minimalist and maximalist groups, is set up. Grice’s often neglected theory of conventional implicature is defended from objections, various tests for the presence of conventional implicature are assessed and the linguistic properties of conventional implicature defined. Once rehabilitated, the theoretical utility of conventional implicature is demonstrated via a case study of the semantic import of the gender and number of pronouns in English. The better-known theory of conversational implicature is also examined and refined. New linguistic tests for such implicatures are devised and the refined theory is applied to scalar terms. A pragmatic approach to scalar implicatures is proposed and shown to fare better than alternatives presented by Uli Sauerland, Stephen Levinson and Gennaro Chierchia. With the details of the theory conversational implicature established, the use made of Grice’s tool in the work of several philosophers is critically evaluated. Kent Bach’s minimalist approach to quantifier domain restriction is examined and criticised. Also, the linguistic evidence for semantic minimalism provided by Herman Cappelen and Ernie Lepore is found wanting. Finally, a content maximalist approach to quantifier domain restriction is proposed. The approach differs from other context maximalist theories, such as Jason Stanley’s, in relying on semantically unarticulated constituents. Stanley’s arguments against such theories are examined. Further applications of the approach are briefly surveyed.

<p>When we converse we constantly fail to observe the rules of conversation in order to simplify and make dialogues more effective. The scriptwriters who work with TV shows use non-observances of maxims in order to evoke different feelings from their viewers. The aim of this paper was to investigate how frequently non-observances of maxims occurred in the TV shows Desperate Housewives and That 70’s Show. I examined where and why they were used as well as how often flouting was used compared to violations. The base of the study was a drama and a comedy show.</p><p>Research has shown that the maxim of relevance is most frequently used to create different comical or dramatic situations. The scriptwriters have their characters ignore what is relevant to the situations in order to make them come off as flustered, odd and stupid in humorous situations and as mysterious, cowardly, respectful or bold in dramatic situations. Also research shows that flouting occurs more frequently than violations when it comes to breaking maxims. Violations occur most often with the maxim of quality when the characters lie to mislead in order to direct blame away from him/herself. In Conclusion, this investigation has shown that non-observances of maxims are important for scriptwriters in order to create humorous and dramatic situations in verbal interaction.</p>

This paper explores how flouting of the Gricean maxims is used to create comedy in the television series Community.  The aim of the paper is to find out what maxims are flouted the most to create comedy and what maxims the different characters flout in order to create comedy. The paper examines the use of flouts in different situations and explores in what situations the different characters flout the maxims for comedy.  The paper is based on transcription of eight episodes of the series. The results show that the maxim of quantity was flouted most often, and some characters used more flouts than others. These results suggest that the use of flouts has to do with their different personalities, which is why some characters did not use as many flouts in order to create comedy, since it would not be in line with their personality.

When we converse we constantly fail to observe the rules of conversation in order to simplify and make dialogues more effective. The scriptwriters who work with TV shows use non-observances of maxims in order to evoke different feelings from their viewers. The aim of this paper was to investigate how frequently non-observances of maxims occurred in the TV shows Desperate Housewives and That 70’s Show. I examined where and why they were used as well as how often flouting was used compared to violations. The base of the study was a drama and a comedy show. Research has shown that the maxim of relevance is most frequently used to create different comical or dramatic situations. The scriptwriters have their characters ignore what is relevant to the situations in order to make them come off as flustered, odd and stupid in humorous situations and as mysterious, cowardly, respectful or bold in dramatic situations. Also research shows that flouting occurs more frequently than violations when it comes to breaking maxims. Violations occur most often with the maxim of quality when the characters lie to mislead in order to direct blame away from him/herself. In Conclusion, this investigation has shown that non-observances of maxims are important for scriptwriters in order to create humorous and dramatic situations in verbal interaction.

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Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T23:03:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo8986_1.pdf: 1458380 bytes, checksum: 202f23dc7517ebbda2a8a7583829c9ee (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Este estudo propõe-se a analisar o uso dos marcadores verbais que representam alguns aspectos não-verbais da conversação em salas de bate-papo na internet e de que forma tais aspectos contribuem para a interação no diálogo realizado neste contexto, predominantemente verbal. É uma investigação sobre os processos de comunicação humana no contexto das novas tecnologias, especificamente em salas chats, considerando os aspectos psicológicos e sócio-culturais. Apoiamo-nos nas perspectivas etnometodológicas da Análise da Conversação e nos Princípios da Cooperação de Grice, fundamentadas numa abordagem interacional dos sujeitos que dialogam a partir de enunciados co-construídos, considerando-se os aspectos gestuais e o contexto. Realizouse uma etnografia virtual em salas de bate-papo, observando o uso dos marcadores verbais que representam alguns aspectos não-verbais da conversação (emoticons e expressões lexicais de onomatopéias, abreviações e entonações) e os efeitos dessa prática no diálogo construído. Aplicando-se as Máximas Conversacionais Gricianas a estas marcas verbais, verificou-se quais delas apresentaram maior transgressão ao Princípio da Cooperação, produzindo implicaturas. Os resultados ainda indicaram a emergência de novos emoticons criados pelos próprios usuários, bem como o processo de co-regulação e engajamento dos participantes nestas salas de bate-papo, semelhante a uma conversação face-a-face, embora os limites encontrados face à complexidade do estudo, sugerindo-se pesquisas futuras para algumas questões apresentadas

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Paul Grice's conversational implicature is a widely studied and commonly accepted theory in the field of linguistics, and Stephen Toulmin's model of argument is perhaps even more widely studied and accepted in the field of argument. I was struck by the great similarities between the two theories, particularly the leap of logic both are dependent upon, and surprised by the fact that it didn't seem that anyone had explored the similarities. In this thesis, I explore the similarities of the processes, of Grices's implicature and Toulmin's model of argument, and how looking at the two together increases the understanding of both.