An investigation of the relationship between ethnography and implicature : a case study of shona funeral gatherings

Abstract

This dissertation is an exploration of the relationship that exists between ethnography and implicature by combining the two theories, with the Shona (Zezuru dialect) funeral gathering being the case study. The study will analyse utterances made during Shona culture funeral gatherings looking at the linguistic use by investigating how culture influences it to generate implicature through non observance of Grice conversational maxims. Ethnography of communication and conversational implicature were used as the theoretical framework. Observation was the research method used. The results collected reflected that ethnography and implicature can be combined. Norms and genre are cultural factors that dominate the generation of implicature through mainly suspending and flouting of maxims than the other