In legal settings, such as courts of law, the observance of the Cooperative Principle (CP) is particularly crucial. Maxim observance, according to the cooperative principle developed by philosopher H. P. Grice, is a concept in the field of pragmatics and linguistics that explains how people engage in effective communication by following certain conversational norms and expectations. Paul Grice proposed the cooperative principle, which is divided into four maxims (manner, quantity, quality and relation), as a framework for understanding how people convey meaning in conversation. Hence, using the Gricean cooperative principle, this paper seeks to examine the observance of the Cooperative Principle maxims in Selected Kenyan Courts of Law. This study used a total of 12 cases collected during the examinations and cross examinations phases of the selected courtroom trials. Data was analyzed from the 12 purposively sampled cases to show the instances of occurrence of the observance of the CP maxim. The study discovered that there was adherence to the CP maxims. The maxim of manner was observed the most, followed by the maxim of quantity, quality then relation during courtroom interactions, particularly in the examination and cross-examination phases thus the principles of fairness, justice, and professionalism were upheld.
| Published in | International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 12, Issue 6) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijll.20241206.13 |
| Page(s) | 218-230 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Cooperative Principle, Courtroom Discourse, Kenyan Courts, Maxims, Observance
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APA Style
Omwancha, J. K., Odhiambo, K., Ombati, J. (2024). An Analysis of the Observance of the Cooperative Principle Maxims in Selected Kenyan Courts of Law. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 12(6), 218-230. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20241206.13
ACS Style
Omwancha, J. K.; Odhiambo, K.; Ombati, J. An Analysis of the Observance of the Cooperative Principle Maxims in Selected Kenyan Courts of Law. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2024, 12(6), 218-230. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20241206.13
AMA Style
Omwancha JK, Odhiambo K, Ombati J. An Analysis of the Observance of the Cooperative Principle Maxims in Selected Kenyan Courts of Law. Int J Lang Linguist. 2024;12(6):218-230. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20241206.13
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20241206.13,
author = {Janet Kemunto Omwancha and Kenneth Odhiambo and Jane Ombati},
title = {An Analysis of the Observance of the Cooperative Principle Maxims in Selected Kenyan Courts of Law
},
journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
volume = {12},
number = {6},
pages = {218-230},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20241206.13},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20241206.13},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20241206.13},
abstract = {In legal settings, such as courts of law, the observance of the Cooperative Principle (CP) is particularly crucial. Maxim observance, according to the cooperative principle developed by philosopher H. P. Grice, is a concept in the field of pragmatics and linguistics that explains how people engage in effective communication by following certain conversational norms and expectations. Paul Grice proposed the cooperative principle, which is divided into four maxims (manner, quantity, quality and relation), as a framework for understanding how people convey meaning in conversation. Hence, using the Gricean cooperative principle, this paper seeks to examine the observance of the Cooperative Principle maxims in Selected Kenyan Courts of Law. This study used a total of 12 cases collected during the examinations and cross examinations phases of the selected courtroom trials. Data was analyzed from the 12 purposively sampled cases to show the instances of occurrence of the observance of the CP maxim. The study discovered that there was adherence to the CP maxims. The maxim of manner was observed the most, followed by the maxim of quantity, quality then relation during courtroom interactions, particularly in the examination and cross-examination phases thus the principles of fairness, justice, and professionalism were upheld.
},
year = {2024}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - An Analysis of the Observance of the Cooperative Principle Maxims in Selected Kenyan Courts of Law AU - Janet Kemunto Omwancha AU - Kenneth Odhiambo AU - Jane Ombati Y1 - 2024/12/07 PY - 2024 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20241206.13 DO - 10.11648/j.ijll.20241206.13 T2 - International Journal of Language and Linguistics JF - International Journal of Language and Linguistics JO - International Journal of Language and Linguistics SP - 218 EP - 230 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-0221 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20241206.13 AB - In legal settings, such as courts of law, the observance of the Cooperative Principle (CP) is particularly crucial. Maxim observance, according to the cooperative principle developed by philosopher H. P. Grice, is a concept in the field of pragmatics and linguistics that explains how people engage in effective communication by following certain conversational norms and expectations. Paul Grice proposed the cooperative principle, which is divided into four maxims (manner, quantity, quality and relation), as a framework for understanding how people convey meaning in conversation. Hence, using the Gricean cooperative principle, this paper seeks to examine the observance of the Cooperative Principle maxims in Selected Kenyan Courts of Law. This study used a total of 12 cases collected during the examinations and cross examinations phases of the selected courtroom trials. Data was analyzed from the 12 purposively sampled cases to show the instances of occurrence of the observance of the CP maxim. The study discovered that there was adherence to the CP maxims. The maxim of manner was observed the most, followed by the maxim of quantity, quality then relation during courtroom interactions, particularly in the examination and cross-examination phases thus the principles of fairness, justice, and professionalism were upheld. VL - 12 IS - 6 ER -
Languages, Literature and Culture Department, Maasai Mara University, Narok, Kenya
Languages, Literature and Culture Department, Maasai Mara University, Narok, Kenya
Languages, Literature and Culture Department, Maasai Mara University, Narok, Kenya
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