Original article | International Journal of Language and Education Research 2024, Vol. 6(2) 35-60
Examining Online News: A Gricean Maxim Analysis of News Outlet Facebook Pages
Rialyn Dogcol & Virna Villanueva
pp. 35 - 60 | Manu. Number: MANU-2406-17-0001
Published online: August 29, 2024 | Number of Views: 14 | Number of Download: 24
Abstract
This study explored how digital news outlets adhere to and violate the Gricean conversational maxims namely quantity, quality, relation, and manner. Using a qualitative research design, 60 Facebook posts from three digital news outlets in Sorsogon, Philippines were analyzed based on the criteria set by H.P. Grice. It was found that the news outlets adhere to the Gricean conversational maxims, especially those of quality and relation. However, there were also instances when they clearly violated the maxims such as those of quantity and manner. These findings suggest that the news outlets share truthful and relevant news but at the same time, they also disseminate unclear messages that lack important details. The analysis further revealed that the creators of these FB posts which do not observe the Gricean maxims have different motives or purposes. The most common possible motives are to emphasize a point, so the readers’ attention is drawn towards a particular piece of information in the post and to capture or sustain the readers’ interest so that they stay tuned for updates about the issue. Hence, the public needs to be more critical in examining FB posts of these news outlets and the possible motives behind every news story for a better understanding and interpretation of media messages.
Keywords: Gricean conversational maxims, cooperative principle, digital news outlets
| How to Cite this Article? |
|---|
|
APA 6th edition Harvard Chicago 16th edition |
| References |
|---|
|
Adebola, O. A. (2018). Cooperative principle maxims in Whatsapp conversations among undergraduates in the Federal University of Technology Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 5(10). https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.510.5309 Aporbo, R. J. (2022). Exploring Gricean maxims in Facebook conversations through the lens of Gen-Z users: A pragmatic analysis. International Journal of Research Publications, 111(1). https://doi.org/10.47119/ijrp10011111020224054 Ayunon, C. (2018). Gricean maxims revisited in FB conversation posts: Its pedagogical implications. TESOL International Journal, 13(4), 82–95. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1244110.pdf Grice, H. P. (1975). Logic and Conversation. In Syntax and Semantics 3: Speech Acts (pp. 41–58). Elsevier. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ls Hadi, A. (2013). A critical appraisal of Grice’s cooperative principle. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 03(01), 69–72. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojml.2013.31008 Haq, Z., & Isnaeni, M. (2020). Analysis of ethics in speech criticism on Facebook: Grice’s cooperative principles. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 662, 781–787. https://www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/icolae-21/125974347 Hossain, M. M. (2021). The application of Grice maxims in conversation: A pragmatic study. Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 3(10), 32–40. https://doi.org/10.32996/jeltal.2021.3.10.4 Ikaria-Maina, N. (2015). Business discourse: Analyses of adherence of cooperative principle in sales personnel-customer interaction. International Journal of Physical and Social Sciences, 5(4), 370–380. https://www.ijsr.net/archive/v4i9/SUB158110.pdf Kheirabadi, R., & Aghagolzadeh, F. (2012). Grice’s cooperative maxims as linguistic criteria for news selectivity. Theory and Practice in Language Studies. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.2.3.547-553 Mitchell, A. (2020, August 27). What Facebook and Twitter mean for news | Pew Research Center. Pew Research Center’s Journalism Project. https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism National Association for Media Literacy Education. (2021, February 10). Media Literacy Defined. https://namle.net/resources/media-literacy-defined/ Paltridge, B. (2012). Discourse and Pragmatics. In Discourse: An Introduction (pp. 38–58). Bloomsbury Publishing. Qassemi, M., Ziabari, R. S., & Kheirabadi, R. (2018). Grice’s cooperative principles in news reports of Tehran Times- A descriptive-analytical study. DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals). https://doaj.org/article/43ce689d26494a2f83b9c7ad480f620a Rizal, F. (2016). An analysis of Grice’s maxims violation in daily conversation. Journal of Languages and Language Teaching, 4(2), 91. https://doi.org/10.33394/jollt.v4i2.325 Roxas, M. J. (2020). #JustSharing: Revisiting Gricean maxims in public Facebook comments. Universe International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research, 1(1). https://www.academia.edu/43221350 UNESCO (2024, April 10). Media and Information Literacy. https://www.unesco.org/en/media-information-literacy |
