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The importance of the maxim of quality for cooperative interaсtion in English may be best
measured by the number of expres-sions we use to indicate that what we're saying may not be
totally accurate. The initial phrases in [3а.-c.] and the final phrase in [3d.] are notes to the
listener regarding the accuracy of the main statement.
[3] a. As far as I know, they're married.
b. I may be mistaken, but I thought I saw a wedding ring on her finger.
c. I'm not sure if this is right, but I heard it was a secret ceremony in Hawaii.
d. He couldn't live without her, I guess.

The conversational context for the examples in [3] might be a recent rumor involving a
couple known to the speakers. Cautious notes, or hedges, of this type can also be used to
show that the speaker is conscious of the quantity maxim, as in the initial phrases in [4a.-c.],
produced in the course of a speaker's account of her recent vacation.
[4] a. As you probably know, I am terrified of bugs.
b. So, to cut a long story short, we grabbed our stuff and ran.
c.I won't bore you with all the details, but it was an exciting trip.
Markers tied to the expectation of relevance (from the maxim of relation) can be found in
the middle of speakers' talk when they say things like 'Oh, by the way' and go on to mention
some poten-tially unconnected information during a conversation. Speakers also seem to use
expressions like 'anyway', or 'well, anyway', to indicate that they may have drifted into a
discussion of some pos-sibly non-relevant material and want to stop. Some expressions which
may act as hedges on the expectation of relevance are shown as the initial phrases in [5a. -c. ],
from an office meeting.
[5] a. I don't know if this is important, but some of the files
are missing,
b. This may sound like a dumb question, but whose hand
writing is this?
c. Not to change the subject, but is this related to the budget?
The awareness of the expectations of manner may also lead speakers to produce
hedges of the type shown in the initial phrases in [6a. -c. ], heard during an account of a crash.
[6] a. This may be a bit confused, but I remember being in a car.
b. I'm not sure if this makes sense, but the car had no lights, c. I don't know if this is clear
at all, but I think the other car was reversing.
All of these examples of hedges are good indications that the speakers are not only
aware of the maxims, but that they want to show that they are trying to observe them. Perhaps
such forms also communicate the speakers' concern that their listeners judge them to be
cooperative conversational partners.
There are, however, some circumstances where speakers may not follow the
expectations of the cooperative principle. In court-rooms and classrooms, witnesses and
students are often called upon to tell people things which are already well-known to those
people (thereby violating the quantity maxim). Such specialized institutional talk is clearly
different from conversation.
However, even in conversation, a speaker may 'opt out' of the maxim expectations by
using expressions like 'No comment' in response to a question. An interesting aspect of such
expressions is that, although they are typically not 'as informative as is required' in the context,
they are naturally inter-preted as communicating more than is said (i. e. the speaker knows the