A Study of Humor: the Outcome of Flouting the Maxims in Yes Man Movie Utterances

Saka Bachrul Ulum

Abstract

The use of humor does not always run well in a conversation. People may misunderstand and draw wrong inference. Therefore, the more comprehensive the study on humor language in linguistic perspective, the better it will be, particularly from pragmatic outlooks. Considering the phenomenon above, this thesis analyzes the use of flouting the maxims of cooperative principles constructs humor in Yes Man movie utterances. This study is conducted by using mixed method (both qualitative and quantitative methods). The result of this thesis shows that the flouting maxims of cooperative principles construct humor. It is also found that the characters in Yes Man movie blatantly flout the maxims to indicate that they have implied meanings in their conversation.

 

Keywords: Humor, Pragmatics, Cooperative principles, Maxims.