The Flouting and Hedging Maxims Used by The Main Characters in “Bend it Like Beckham”

ABSTRACT

The effectiveness and efficiently of delivering information are needed in communication. That is why, it is essential to use Grice’s maxims theory of cooperative principles to avoid misinterpretation and misunderstanding. Maxim is a basic assumption and it can be changed. There are four maxims, namely maxim of quantity, quality, relation, and manner. Thus, we are have to obey the rules of four maxims to communicate smoothly.

This study focuses on analyzing the hedging and flouting maxims used by the main characters in “Bend It Like Beckham”. The maxims are violated and overtly broken, that cause the sentences seem informative, well founded and relevant. It also causes the sentences have some implied meaning and sometimes it is difficult to understand less informative. The research problems in this thesis are (1) How are the maxims flouted by the main characters in “Bend It Like Beckham?” (2) How are the maxims hedged by the main characters in “Bend It Like Beckham?”. A descriptive qualitative method is used because the data are explained descriptively. The data are taken from the main characters’ utterance in conversations in “Bend It Like Beckham”.

After the data obtained and analyzed, it is found that the most of the data are flouting the maxims, especially the maxims of quantity and quality. So it uses the sentences which have some of data flouting maxim of manner because the data can cause ambiguous and obscurity. Therefore, the data are using exaggeration statement which is also classified on understatement and overstatement. The data also uses metaphor, rhetorical question and irony to
indicate that they are not literally true conveyed some implied meanings. It is also found tautology on the data. Moreover, flouting the maxim of relation is found in the data. Then it is found understatement, because less information.

There were also some data that were hedging the maxims. It is found that most of them are hedging the maxims of quality, because there are many data, which show the statement is doubtful. Besides, it is found that the data are hedging the maxims of relation and manner because the utterance is expressed in long drawn way and has relation one each other. It is found also that there are some data, which abides the maxims of quantity, because the data fulfilled the data is informative as is required. Some data fulfilled all the maxims of quality because there are true, fulfilled all the maxims of quantity because they are informative, fulfilled the maxims of relation because they are relevant, and fulfilled the maxims of manner, because they are not ambiguous.

It is found that (1) Exaggerated statements are used maxims were flouted when they were overtly broken by the main characters’ utterance of “Bend It Like Beckham” such as tautology, metaphor, overstatement, understatement, rethorical question and irony. (2) Maxims of quantity itself is flouted when the utterances are overstatement. (3) Rethorical question in the main characters’ utterance do not use “wh” question or it is ungrammatically, however it is a rethoric because of its intonation.