Unveiling Humor: A Pragmatic Analysis of Non-observance of Gricean Maxims in Puns in the Tunisian Sitcom Choufli Hal

Abstract

Humor plays a significant role in the Tunisian sitcom Choufli Hal, often stemming from language tricks like breaking some communication rules called Gricean maxims, especially in puns. This study dived into the realm of humor within this show, focusing

on the passages where characters bend these rules of communication in their use of puns to create humor. To achieve this aim, a descriptive research design was adopted, using content analysis as the primary methodological instrument. The study employed purposive sampling in which 41 selected conversations were carefully examined from all the 135 episodes of the sitcom. The objective was shedding light on the extent to which the main characters in the sitcom disregard Gricean maxims and the specific types of non-observance maxim commonly associated with puns for humor creation. The findings highlighted that the most common type of rule breaking is “infringing relation” followed by “flouting manner”. Notably, each type of rule breaking is associated with a specific character. These findings not only contribute to the broader body of knowledge in humor research but also offer valuable implications for understanding the intricacies of the Grice’s Cooperative Principle. This can be observed in comic contexts, particularly in sitcoms where the CP’s maxims can be broken differently to create humor depending on many factors like context and the character’s personality.