EXAMINING GRICEAN MAXIMS IN STUDENTS ORDINARY CONVERSATIONS: A STUDY AT SMAN 2 LABUAPIACADEMIC YEAR 2010/2011

This study is aimed at examining Gricean maxim in students’ ordinary conversation. It took place at SMAN 2 Labuapi. It was focused on analyzing the way students communicate one another in their daily interaction. It examines the four maxims of Grice which is expected to build a harmonious conversation. Thus, a speaker or hearer can be said cooperative in one conversation if they obey the four maxims (be brief, avoid obscurity and ambiguity expression (maxim of manner), make your contribution as informative as is required (maxim of quantity), be truthful (maxim of quality), and be relevant to the topic of conversation (maxim of relation). The data of this study was gained from student’s conversation at SMAN 2 Labuapi. The samples were 20 students captured by tape recorder and note talking randomly. To analyze the data, descriptive interpretative was applied. The result shows that the students did not always obey the four maxims in their conversation. The four maxims were both applied and disobeyed, because of some reason: (1) intimacy and solidarity, (2) politeness and cultural factor. Therefore, it can be concluded that applying four maxims in daily conversations is impossible.