Gricean Pragmatics in Indian Fiction in English (Hardbound-2021)

The present book applies the interpretative framework of Gricean Cooperative Principle (1975) to the analysis of conversations in which characters in novels flout, violate, suspend, infringe, and opt out of four Maxims of Cooperative Principle. Here is a piecemeal analysis of deviations from four Maxims of CP in the five novels by Indian writers in English: Temporary Answers (1974) by Jai Nimbkar, Heat and Dust (1975) by R.P. Jhabvala, Cry, the Peacock (1980) by Anita Desai, Socialite Evenings (1989) by Shobha De, and The Binding Vine (1993) by Shashi Deshpande. Conversations from the fictional discourse by Henry Fielding, Charles Dickens, D.H. Lawrence, Raja Rao, R.K. Narayan, Khushwant Singh, Chaman Nahal, Rama Mehta, H.G. Wells, O. Henry, and Premchand have also been analysed by applying this interpretative framework. The book attempts to show how this interpretative framework enriches the study of fictional discourse.

The book will be immensely useful to teachers, students, and budding researchers of English literature, along with social psychologists, sociologists and sociolinguists.

Prof. Shivaji D. Mahajan, M.A., Ph.D., is the Vice-Principal and Head at the Department of English, Nanasaheb Y.N. Chavan Arts, Science and Commerce College, Chalisgaon (Jalgaon) and has thirty-five years of teaching and research experience. As a member of Board of Studies in English at KBC North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon, he has co-edited three English textbooks and is a co-author of M.A. English textbook for Distance Learning. He has presented research papers in four international conferences and has published a dozen of research articles in national and international journals of repute. He has been the Assistant Coordinator of College level NAAC (IQAC) since 1995 and is actively involved in designing the syllabi of B.A., B.Com., and B.Sc. English Subject and Functional/Communicative English courses. He is a Counselor of Under-Graduate and Post-Graduate classes at YCMOU Study Centre of the College. He is also a Research Guide and has examined a dozen of M.Phil. and Ph.D. theses and guided eight Ph.D. students.