A Pragmatic Analysis of Verbal Offers by Vendors

This study is a pragmatic investigation of verbal offers by vendors of consumer products in Jos Metropolis. An attempt is made to analyze data at the semantic and syntactic levels. Findings provide empirical to the view adopted by Levinson (1983) with regard to the Cooperative principle and its four maxims of quantity, quality, relation and manner. It is justified that the maxims are not absolute rules that have to be strictly obeyed in order to make a verbal interaction go smoothly. Rather, they should be deemed as common assumptions shared by both the speakers and the hearers when they are engaged in a verbal interaction.

Autorentext

Keziah Jonah Pam is a seasoned teacher who has been teaching English Language for quite some time. She is currently lecturing at the Department of English, University of Jos, Nigeria. The author, who holds a B.A and M.A. (English) degree has contributed researched articles to scholarly and learned journals within and outside Nigeria.