Pragmatics, Essay Example

(a) Well, I have known you both for a very long time–I would not be too concerned. You know Greg–he really is a “need to know” type person. I know your intentions were good–I am sure that Greg just happened to misinterpret your words. I mean, place yourself in his situation–he is visiting his Mother, who you told me is not doing well. Now, as he clearly the computer person between the two of you–no offense meant, but it is his job–a text simply saying the internet was not working could easily lead him to believe you were expecting a solution from him, while all he saw was the larger issue on his plate–the issue of his Mother right in front of his face. You know Greg is a good guy–here, look at it this way: there are four different maxims of conversation, and he was clearly following what is known as the maxim of relevance. He was with his sick Mother–and that was his main focus–rightfully so. A text from you simply telling him the Internet was out, whether it was a big deal to you or not, it just was not relevant to his situation. That is why Greg reacted the way he did…I mean did he have to know the Internet was out at all at the time?

(b) Should my friend have not wanted my help and I offered it; I would certainly have been violating possibly two different maxims–both quantity and quality. I may not have had enough information to make the judgments that I made. In addition, my speculation as to what Greg, her own husband, was thinking could certainly have been false given I only had one side of the story.