Grice's theory of CP and the Language of Punjabi Theatre

This research aims to apply the Gricean theory of Co-operative Principle to the language of Punjabi stage drama. It analyzes how the Gricean work of application of conversational maxims and formation of implicatures play a significant role in the interpretation of the utterances spoken in the play. It studies the difference between implicit and explicit meanings through the bridge of implicature and how the language is manipulated to create special effects in the Punjabi stage dramas. It also draws a gender perspective on the flouting of conversation maxims. The application of the theory involves a blend of qualitative and quantitative methods for the present study. The quantitative part deals with calculating the flouts on each conversational maxim. The qualitative methodology involves the discussion on the formation of implicatures by flouts of the conversational maxims and the factors that play an important role in the study of implicatures.