Opting out of Gricean Maxims in the Yemeni Dialect: A Pragmatic Analysis

Abstract

This research attempts to investigate Gricean Theory of Conversational Implicature and its application to the Arabic language. To investigate such a theory, semi-structured interviews with 15 participants who speak the Yemeni dialect were recorded. Four Ph.D. candidates, four M.A. candidates and seven B.A. candidates were interviewed. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, translated and interpreted by adopting a qualitative and a quantitative approach. The analysis focused on opting out of the maxims. The findings revealed that Gricean Theory of Conversational Implicature can be applied to Arabic language, particularly the Yemeni dialect. Besides, the analysis showed that in spite of opting out of maxims the participants were to a great extent cooperative.