Pragmatic Markers and Conversational Implicature in Facebook Group Chats among Nnamdi Azikiwe University Undergraduates

Résumé

This study examines how Nnamdi Azikiwe University undergraduates use pragmatic markers and conversational implicature (meaning that is not directly stated but understood) in Facebook group chats. While Facebook group chats are a popular form of communication, there is not much research on how these language features work in this setting, where multiple people are talking at the same time in informal ways. The research is centered on how these markers help people manage conversations, maintain relationships, and create implied meanings in group chats. The study used Grice’s theory of conversational implicature and politeness theory to understand how these language features help manage social interactions and politeness in group settings. To conduct the study, we analyzed Facebook group chats of Nnamdi Azikiwe University students to see how they use these markers and how they create meaning. The research revealed that pragmatic markers -fillers and discourse markers like ‘so,’ ‘like,’ and ‘you know’ were pervasive in the Facebook group chats of Nnamdi Azikiwe University undergraduates, accounting for nearly half of all discourse cues. These markers helped in managing turn-taking, signaling topic shifts, and mitigating potential face-threats. The researcher concluded that conversational implicatures frequently arose through strategic flouting of Gricean maxims, especially Manner and Relation to convey humor, irony, or indirect requests.