American Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences ISSN (E): 2832-8019 Volume 26, | July - 2024 P a g e | 12 www.americanjournal.org INVESTIGATING THE IMPORTANCE OF FLOATING GRICE'S MAXIMS IN TRANSLATING ADVERTISEMENTS A Research submitted by Ayah Ismail Ibrahim Supervised by Asst. Prof. Dr. Maha Bakir Mohammed University of Tikrit, College of Arts, Department of Translation Student E-mail: ai230011prt@st.tu.edu.iq Supervisor E-mail: bakir.maha@tu.edu.iq Tikrit, Salah Al-din, Iraq. A B S T R A C T K E Y W O R D S This study investigates the application and implications of Grice's conversational maxims in the translation of deceptive expressions within advertisements. Specifically, it examines which maxim—quantity, quality, relation, or manner—is most frequently floated by translators. The study posits two hypotheses: first, that translators are more likely to float rather than violate these maxims, and second, that the maxim of quality is floated more frequently than the others. Findings partially support the first hypothesis, revealing that translators floated Grice’s maxims 13 times out of 27 instances to mitigate the impact of deceptive content, often altering the information quantity, message quality, relational context, and message order to maintain the source language text's (SLT) overall integrity and persuasive intent. However, the second hypothesis is refuted, as translators generally maintained adherence to the quality maxim, prioritizing honesty and commitment to the SLT’s intended meaning over floating it. These findings underscore the nuanced role of Grice’s maxims in achieving faithful and effective translation in advertising contexts, where rhetorical strategies often necessitate flexible adherence to these conversational principles. Floating, deceptive expressions, advertisements, translation, violation. Introduction The field of translation is inherently complex, involving not just linguistic conversion but also the conveyance of cultural and contextual nuances from one language to another. In the context of advertisements, this complexity is further amplified by the need to maintain the persuasive and often deceptive intent of the original message. This research focuses on the application of Grice's maxims— quantity, quality, relation, and manner—within the translation process. Grice's maxims, which serve as guidelines for cooperative communication, are frequently floated, or deliberately manipulated, to achieve specific rhetorical effects in translations. This study investigates the extent and manner in which translators float these maxims when dealing with deceptive expressions in advertisements, American Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Volume 26 July - 2024 P a g e | 13 www.americanjournal.org aiming to highlight the strategic choices made to balance fidelity to the source text with the persuasive needs of the target text. By examining these practices, the research seeks to provide deeper insights into the nuanced role of Gricean maxims in translation, particularly in the context of advertising where the subtleties of language can significantly influence consumer perception and behavior. The Concept of Translation Translation is a complex process that goes beyond merely converting words from one language to another, involving linguistic, cultural, and communicative dimensions. Contemporary scholarship views translation as a phenomenon encompassing cultural mediation and adaptation. Theories such as Nida's dynamic equivalence emphasize achieving effect equivalence between source and target texts (Nida, 1964), while Vermeer and Reiss's skopos theory highlights the importance of the translation’s purpose (Vermeer & Reiss, 1984). Translators negotiate between "foreignization" and "domestication" to balance the source text's foreignness with target audience expectations (Venuti, 1995). Technological advancements, including machine translation, have revolutionized the field, but scholars like Baker (2018) stress the importance of maintaining cultural and linguistic nuances through human intervention. Observance of Gricean Maxims of Speech Grice's cooperative principles and maxims remain significant in contemporary communication. The maxim of quantity involves providing an appropriate amount of information, ensuring messages are concise yet comprehensive (Smith et al., 2021). The maxim of quality focuses on truthfulness, with fact-checking and transparency building trust (Johnson & Lee, 2020). The maxim of relation highlights the importance of relevance in communication, enhancing message resonance (Garcia & Wang, 2022). The maxim of manner emphasizes clarity and orderliness, which are crucial for credibility and understanding, especially in digital communication (Chen et al., 2019). Observing these maxims enhances communication effectiveness, trust, and credibility. Non-Observance of Gricean Maxims of Speech Non-observance of Gricean maxims significantly impacts modern communication. Over-sharing or under-sharing information (Smith & Brown, 2023) and misinformation (Jones et al., 2022) undermine audience engagement and trust. Irrelevant contributions disrupt communication flow (Garcia & Patel, 2021), and ambiguous language leads to misunderstandings (Kim et al., 2020). Addressing these challenges through balanced information delivery, fact-checking, maintaining relevance, and ensuring clarity can enhance communication effectiveness. Flouting of Gricean Maxims of Speech Speakers often flout Gricean maxims for strategic or expressive purposes. Flouting the maxim of quantity involves using excessive or insufficient information for rhetorical or humorous effects (Johnson & Smith, 2023). The maxim of quality is flouted through irony or satire, where false statements convey implicit meanings (Brown et al., 2022). Irrelevant information is introduced to manipulate conversational dynamics or emphasize points (Garcia & Lee, 2021). Ambiguous language fosters creativity and engages audiences through novel meanings (Kim et al., 2023). Understanding these behaviors provides insights into the complexities of communication. American Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Volume 26 July - 2024 P a g e | 14 www.americanjournal.org Data Analysis Pic. No.1 (Advertisement no. 1) Deception here lies in describe the same meal with two contrastive adjectives (hot & cool). ST1 (Hot oatmeal is cool( This advertisement is rendered as follows of 9 translations (TTS): .حساء الشوفان رائع المذاق .1 .الشوفان الساخن رائع .2 .دقيق الشوفان طعمه لذيذ جدا .3 .دقيق الشوفان الساخن بارد .4 .هذا الشوفان الساخن حقا بارد .5 .دقيق الشوفان المغري, انه فعال رائع .6 .الشوفان الساخن لذيذ المذاق .7 .ال شيء يعادل الشوفان الساخن .8 .ستشعر بالبرد عند تناول الشوفان الساخن .9 Discussion Based on Newmark's translation model, translations 2,4,5,7,9 are semantic translation, while the 3,6,8,9 are communicative translation. The translations employ a variety of procedures, including modulation (4,5,6,9), literal translation (2,3,7), compensation (8), and cultural equivalent (1). These procedures show how translators adapt to convey the intended meaning while considering linguistic and cultural nuances in the target language. Concerning the observance and non-observance of Grice’s maxims, translators 1,2,3,4,5,6,, and 7 have floated the maxim quantity on one hand, when they have been less informative than it is needed. They translate ‘oatmeal’ as ‘oat’ only “شوفان" American Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Volume 26 July - 2024 P a g e | 15 www.americanjournal.org On the other hand, they have been more informative than it is needed by adding some details just as .الساخن، حساء، طعمه لذيذ جدا، انه فعال، المغري، ال شيء يعادل Translator 1 floats the maxim of quantity adding the word (soup) to the translation to convey the idea that oat will be beneficial, cool, and edible only when it is cooked (concerning the photo of a female with a spoon and plate). Unlikely, translators 2,5,7, and 8 have translated oatmeal as الشوفان instead of to convey the idea that oat can be cool neglecting the way in which it is served. Translator دقيق الشوفان 9 violates the maxim of quality since no one can feel cold, for real, when s/he eats something hot. Consequently, translator 9 says what he believes to be incorrect that makes the translation inappropriate. Pic. No.2 (Advertisement no. 2) Deception here lies in inveigle the costumer that it is enough to eat only one meal a day and s/he will feel full. ST2 (Carnation instant breakfast, a body couldn't ask for anything more) This advertisement is rendered as follows of 9 translations (TTS): فطور القرنفل الفوري, الجسم ال يمكن ان يطلب شيئا اخر. .1 فطور كارنيشن انستانت, سيكتفي الجسم به تماما. .2 ال يحتاج الجسم اكثر من هذا االفطار الساخن. .3 وجبة افطار القرنفل الفورية, يكون الجسم غير قادر على طلب اكثر من ذلك. .4 افطار القرنقل في الحال, لن يطلب جسمك المزيد. .5 ال شيء مفيد للجسم اكثر من وجبة القرنفل السريع. .6 االفطار بالقرنفل هو الطريقة المثلى لبدء اليوم. .7 افطار الكارنيشن السريع هو االفضل, ال يمكن ألي شخص ان يطلب افضل منها. .8 ستشبع تماما عند تناول القرنفل السريع في الصباح .9 American Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Volume 26 July - 2024 P a g e | 16 www.americanjournal.org Discussion Based on Newmark's translation model, which distinguishes between semantic and communicative translation approaches, translation 4 (" القرنفل الفورية, يكون الجسم غير قادر على طلب اكثر من ذلكوجبة افطار .") is a semantic translation. While the rest of translations are communicative. The translations employ two procedures, which are modulation (2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9), and literal translation (1). These two procedures highlight how translators adapt the original message to suit linguistic and cultural nuances while effectively conveying the intended meaning in the target language. Translations 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 generally provide sufficient information about Carnation instant breakfast being satisfying and not needing anything more. They convey the main idea adequately without omitting crucial details. The translations of all translators are related to the SLT but these of translators (no. 6 and 7) who float the maxim of relation. Floating this maxim makes their translations as a piece of advice more than being a commercial advertisement which could have a better influence on the readers. They lessen the options one may have for breakfast. That is to say, floating relation maxim makes these two translations the nearest ones to the intended meaning of the SLT. Pic. No.3 (Advertisement no. 3) Deception here lies in mentioning an exaggerated information about the time of losing 20 pounds. ST3 (Lose 20 pounds in a week without any effort.) This advertisement is rendered as follows of 9 translations (TTS): .نزل عشرين رطال في االسبوع دون اي مجهود .1 .رطال في غضون اسبوع واحد فقط 20افقد .2 .رطال الخالية من التعب خالل اسبوع فقط 20سارع لحمية ال .3 .باوند ال تحتاج الى جهد كبيرعشرون .4 .افقدي من وزنك ما يقارب العشرون رطال بدون بذل اي مجهود .5 .كيلو دون اي مجهود في اسبوع 20خسارة .6 American Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Volume 26 July - 2024 P a g e | 17 www.americanjournal.org .جنيهاً في اسبوع وانسى التعب 20فقدان .7 .كيلو في اسبوع وبكل سهولة 20تخفيف وزنك بمقدار .8 .رطال في اسبوع واحد دون اي عناء 20اسقط .9 Discussion According to Newmark's translation model, translations 1,4,6 are semantic translation, While the translations 2,3,5,7,8,9 are communicative ones. The translations employ a variety of procedures, including modulation (2,3,7,8,9), literal translation (1,4,6), and compensation (5). These procedures illustrate how translators adapt to convey the original message while considering linguistic and cultural nuances in the target language. In translations 1,3,5,6,8, and 9, the whole maxims are observed. While translators (2) and (4) have floated the maxim of quantity. Translator no.2 has floated the quantity maxim when he translates the advertisement neglecting the information of losing the weight without any effort. Similarly, translator no.4 has floated the same maxim when he is less informative than it is required neglecting the amount of weight that the product makes one lose. Such floating doesn’t affect the appropriateness of these two translations. Translator no. 7 has floated the maxim of relation when translates the word “pounds” as ً .which makes the translation inappropriate رطالً instead of جنيها Conclusion Translators generally strive to avoid violating, breaking, or distorting the principles that ensure the source language texts (SLTs) are truthful, informative, relevant, and clear. However, for rhetorical purposes, it is sometimes necessary to breach these principles, also known as Grice's maxims. In the context of commercial advertisements, the language used must be tailored to suit marketing objectives, and thus, it is often acceptable to float the maxims related to the quantity of information, the quality of the true message, the relation between SLTs and target language texts (TLTs), and occasionally the manner of expression. This might involve shortening the SLT to make the translation more appropriate, acceptable, and faithful. Violating a maxim occurs when translators convey only the surface meaning of an utterance, whereas floating a maxim involves avoiding the direct message to convey an implied one. The hypothesis of this study has been partially validated, as floating Grice’s maxims occurred 13 times out of 27 instances, serving as a technique to mitigate the deceptive influence on readers. The researcher hypothesized that floating the quality maxim would be frequently employed, given that deceptive expressions often contain false concepts that translators find incorrect. Therefore, translators might float the quality maxim to render what they believe to be true. However, the commitment to honesty and accurately conveying the SLT's intended meaning prevents most translators from adopting this technique, as they aim to avoid deceiving readers. References 1. Baker, M. (2018). In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation. Routledge. 2. Brown, T., Green, L., & White, P. (2022). 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