Investigating the Application of Negotiating the Clash between Maxims to the Yemeni Dialect

Abstract

This research aims at investigating Gricean Theory of Conversational Implicature and its application to the Arabic language. Semi-structured interviews with 15 participants who speak the Yemeni dialect were recorded for the purpose of investigating such a theory. There were four Ph.D. candidates, four M.A. candidates and seven B.A. candidates. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, translated, interpreted and then analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The analysis focused on negotiating the clash between maxims. The findings revealed that Gricean Theory of Conversational Implicature can be applied to Arabic language, particularly the Yemeni dialect. The analysis, furthermore, showed that there were instances of clashes between the maxims of Quantity and Quality and this indicated that the participants intended to speak true regardless of giving adequate information.