Flouting and hedging maxims used by Syaikh Ahmed Deedat and Pastor Stanley Sjoberg in a great open debate: Is Jesus God?

ABSTRACT

This study is focused on analyzing flouting and hedging maxims used by Syaikh Ahmed Deedat and Pastor Stanley Sjoberg in a great open debate “Is Jesus God?” using Grice’s maxims. Maxims are the rules of Cooperative Principle, one part of discourse analysis study, which is distinguished into four categories, mely; maxim of quantity, maxim of quality, maxim of relevant and maxim of manner. If these maxims are used in communication, the commimication can go on smoothly, but usually in communication the speakers often break the maxims overtly (Flouting the maxims) and sometimes they break the maxims secretly (Hedging the maxims). A great open debate ،،Is Jesus God?” is one of the examples where the speakers (Syaikh Ahmed Deedat and Pastor Stanley Sjoberg) often flout and hedge the maxims when they are delivering and maintaining their opinions. Based on that background, the research about flouting and hedging maxims used by Syaikh Ahmed Deedat and Pastor Stanley Sjoberg in a great open debate ،،Is Jesus God?” is conducted with the following problems: (l)١How are the maxims flouted by Syaikh Ahmed Deedat and Pastor Stanley Sjoberg in a great open debate “Is Jesus God?,*?. (2) How are the maxims hedged by Syaikh Ahmed Deedat and Pastor Stanley Sjoberg in a great open debate “Is Jesus God?”?.

This research is conducted using a descriptive qualitative method based on Grice’s maxims. The data are in the form of utterances produced by Syaikh Ahmed Deedat and Pastor Stanley Sjoberg in a great open debate “Is Jesus God?”.

Data analysis revealed some findings covering the formulated research questions. The maxims could be flouted or hedged by the speakers. The maxims were flouted if the speaker breaks some maxims when producing the utterance in the form of rhetorical strategies, mely; tautology, metaphor, overstatement, understatement, rhetorical question and irony. On the other hand, maxims were hedged when the information is not totally accurate or not clearly stated but seems informative, well founded and relevant.

Based on the findings mentioned above, it is it is suggested that although it is very difficult to obey and use all of the maxims in producing utterances especially in debate, it is essential and efficiently in communication to obey and use all of the maxims, in order the communication can go on smoothly. Besides, it is suggested for the next researchers to use other relevance theories to investigate on the same area of the research, especially relevance theory proposed by Spewber and Winston.