Aimai in Japanese Implicature: A Pragmatic Study

Abstract

This research discusses aimai in Japanese conversational implicature. To avoid conflict and disguise disagreements, Japanese society uses a disguise called aimai. Implicatures occur because of violations of conversational principles. The concept of aimai as part of the culture and norms in communicating in Japanese society is very closely related to the concept of implicature so it is worth discussing. The data source in this research is the film “Kimi ni Todoke”, with data in the form of conversations in the film “Kimi ni Todoke”. The theories used are Grice's theory of cooperation principles, Leech's theory of politeness principles, impicature, and aimai. This research is a qualitative descriptive study with data collection techniques using listening and note-taking techniques, and data analysis using heuristic analysis techniques. The findings are: 1. Conversational implicatures arising from violations of the principle of cooperation are: 1) representative implicatures in the form of stating, showing, refusing, explaining, informing, protecting, avoiding, admitting. 2) directive implicature with the form of ordering. 3) expressive implicatures in the form of teasing, blaming. 4) commissive implicature in the form of promising, defending oneself, trapping. 2. Conversational implicatures that arise from violations of politeness principles are: 1) representative implicatures in the form of showing, explaining, refusing. 2) directive implicatures with the form of forcing, 3) expressive implicatures with the form of criticizing, blaming 4) commissive implicatures with the form of threatening. 3. Aimai is only found in violations of the Quality maxim. The aimai that appear are unfinished sentences, anou, iisashi hyougen, -tari, -shi, -kana, -toka and appear in the implicatures of explaining, teasing, rejecting, protecting, trapping, avoiding, ordering, rejecting.