Context Effects and the Manifestation of Grice’s Maxims in Wolio Proverbs: A Pragmatic Study: Context Effects and the Manifestation of Grice’s Maxims in Wolio Proverbs: A Pragmatic Study

Firman Alamsyah Mansyur

doi:10.59110/aplikatif.894

Authors

Firman Alamsyah Mansyur Universitas Muhammadiyah Buton, Baubau, Indonesia

Keywords:

Context, Cooperative Principles, Grice's Maxims, Pragmatics, Wolio Proverbs

Abstract

This study aims to describe the influence of situational, social, and cultural contexts on the interpretation of Wolio proverbs and explain the manifestation of Grice's cooperative principle through the maxims of quantity, quality, relevance, and manner of use. This study uses a pragmatic approach with a qualitative descriptive method. Data were collected through literature review, in-depth interviews with native speakers, and observation of the use of proverbs in real communication. The analysis was conducted by interpreting the meaning of proverbs based on the surrounding context, then mapping the realization of Grice's maxims in the structure of the utterance and the strategy of using the proverb. The results of the study indicate that context has a direct and determining influence, as the meaning and function of proverbs can only be understood correctly when the speech situation, social relations, and cultural values are taken into account. In addition, Grice's principle of cooperation is reflected in the proverb as an effective, polite, and culturally normative communication strategy. These findings confirm the contribution of Wolio proverbs to the study of pragmatics and cultural linguistics and have the potential to be used as educational material to strengthen cultural literacy and communication values.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Agyekum, K. (2025). Akan water metaphors, idioms, and proverbs. Cognitive Linguistic Studies, 12(2), 346–376. https://doi.org/10.1075/cogls.23024.kof

Aiseng, K., & Group, F. (2025). Women and Femininity in Setswana Proverbs : Pragmatic Analysis Women and Femininity in Setswana Proverbs : Pragmatic Analysis . 2117. https://doi.org/10.1080/02572117.2024.2435475

Alshorafat, O., & Hassi, M. Al. (2025). On the Speech Acts of Dog-Related Proverbs in Jordanian Arabic. 16(5), 1647–1653.

Çetİn, H. A. L. İ. (2025). Türk Atasözlerinde Soy , Asalet Ve Aile Terbiyesi Üzerine Bir İnceleme A Study On Lineage , Nobility And Family Education In Turkish Proverbs. 115(115), 533–545.

Creswell, J. W. (2010). Research Design: Pendekatan Kualitatif, Kuantitatif, dan Mixed (Ketiga). Pustaka Pelajar.

Dosmagambetova, D., Gumarova, S., & Zhyrenshina, K. (2025). Cultural-Communicative and Pragmatic Functions of Youth Socialization and Education Proverbs in the Kazakh Context. 1978.

Golda, P., Ryszka, J., & Zrigue, A. (2025). THE LINGUISTIC IMAGE OF FISH IN SPANISH , ARABIC ,. X(2), 107–130.

Grice, H. P. (1975). Logic and conversation. In P. Cole & J. L. Morgan (Eds.), Syntax and Semantics, Vol. 3: Speech Acts (pp. 41–58). Academic Press.

Iskandar, D., Harun, M., & Yusuf, Y. (2025). Metaphors in Indonesian and Acehnese proverbs of similar meanings : Semantic and cultural analyses. 14(3), 512–523.

Levinson, S. C. (1983). Pragmatics. Cambridge University Press. https://books.google.co.id/books?id=hTTzAgAAQBAJ

Mansyur, F. A., & Said, R. (2020). A Cognitive Semantics Analysis of Wolio Proverbs Related to the Human Body. 259–262. https://doi.org/10.2991/ASSEHR.K.200529.053

Mansyur, F. A., & Suherman, L. A. (2020a). The Function of Proverbs as Educational Media: Anthropological Linguistics on Wolio Proverbs. ELS Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 3(2), 271–286. https://doi.org/10.34050/ELS-JISH.V3I2.10505

Mansyur, F. A., & Suherman, L. A. (2020b). The Function of Proverbs as Educational Media: Anthropological Linguistics on Wolio Proverbs. ELS Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 3(2), 271–286. https://doi.org/10.34050/ELS-JISH.V3I2.10505

Mansyur, F. A., & Suherman, L. O. . (2020c). The Function of Proverbs as Educational Media: Anthropological Linguistics on Wolio Proverbs. ELS Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 3(2), 271–286. https://doi.org/10.34050/els-jish.v3i2.10505 o Title

Masboogh, S. M., Ala, H. R., & Fatehi, S. H. (2025). A Pragmatic Study of Argumentation Techniques in the Proverbs of Nahj al-Balagha. Language Related Research, 16(4), 271–304. https://doi.org/10.48311/LRR.16.4.9

Mekân, Z. V. E., & Tekİn, G. (2025). Atasözlerinde Geleneksel Ekolojik Bilgi : Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Proverbs : Agriculture ,. 339–358.

Mieder, W. (2004). Proverbs: A Handbook. Bloomsbury Academic. https://books.google.co.id/books?id=rfWFu5C-tL0C

Murati, R., & Hysa, M. (2025). Language as a Tool for Education: Teaching Values through Albanian Idioms and Proverbs. Journal of Educational and Social Research, 15, 254. https://doi.org/10.36941/jesr-2025-0175

Oktaviani, S., Mulawarman, W. G., Hidayanto, D. N., Hudiyono, Y., & Suhatmady, B. (2025). Ritual Nutuk Beham dalam tradisi lisan Ngassapi Kutai : Kajian etnolinguistik terhadap nilai karakter dan kearifan ekologis. 8, 1179–1190.

Pham, H. T., Thi, Q., & Pham, H. (2025). Parallelism of syntax and semantics in English - Vietnamese proverbs. 9(1), 198–211. https://doi.org/10.55214/25768484.v9i1.4066

Tajabadi, A., Dowlatabadi, H., & Mehri, E. (2014). Grice’s Cooperative Maxims in Oral Arguments: The Case of Dispute Settlement Councils in Iran. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 98, 1859–1865. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SBSPRO.2014.03.616

Utami, E. S., & Suryadi, M. (2025). Krisis identitas linguistik : Eksistensi bahasa ibu di persimpangan generasi kekinian Desa Karangwuni. Diglosia: Jurnal Kajian Bahasa, Sastra, Dan Pengajarannya, 8(4), 1057–1066. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.30872/diglosia.v8i4.1331

Wijana, I. D. P. (2024). Concurrence of plants and its representation in Indonesian proverbs. 7, 291–302. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.30872/diglosia.v7i2.966

Yule, G. (1996). Pragmatics (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Context Effects and the Manifestation of Grice’s Maxims in Wolio Proverbs: A Pragmatic Study