A Pragmatic Analysis of Flouting Gricean Maxims in “Bila Esok Ibu Tiada” Film

This study explores the flouting of Gricean maxims in the Indonesian film” Bila Esok Ibu Tiada”. Flouting occurs when speakers intentionally do not follow one or more of Grice’s conversational maxims Quantity, Quality, Relevance, and Manner in order to convey implied meanings beyond the literal interpretation of their utterances. This study examines two central issues: (1) which categories of Gricean maxims are violated by the characters, (2) what pragmatic interpretations or implicit meanings arise from the violation of Gricean. A descriptive qualitative method was utilized, applying Grice’s (1975) Cooperative Principle as the core analytical basis. The information was gathered through multiple observations and meticulous transcription of the movie dialogues, producing 23 statements categorized as maxim violation. The results indicate that the four maxims are all violated in the movie. The Maxim of Relevance appears as the most commonly violated, totaling 8 cases (34.7%), followed by Manner with 7 cases (30.4%), Quantity with 6 cases (26.0%), and Quality with 2 cases (8.6%). The examination further reveals five principal pragmatic roles of violation: evasion and avoidance, face protection and politeness, emotional articulation and strength, interpersonal dispute and strain, and humour and social connection. The frequent use of relevance flouting indicates the characters’ tendency to avoid emotionally sensitive topics, while manner flouting reflects heightened emotional states, particularly in situations involving grief and family conflict. In summary, the violation of Gricean maxims within the film functions as an intentional pragmatic technique to convey intricate emotional and relational significance. This research provides an enhanced comprehension of pragmatic characteristics in Indonesian film discourse and delivers practical perspectives for instructing pragmatics in English learning environments.