This thesis examines how conversational implicature functions in Jane Austen's Emma in accordance to Grice's (1975) Cooperative Principle and Gricean maxims of Quantity, Quality, Relation and Manner. This paper seeks to elucidate how the implications signaled by Austen's dialogue function thereby contribute to characterization; irony; social relationships and class and gender expectations at large. From a methodological perspective, this study presents a descriptive qualitative design underpinned by simple quantitative counts of raw frequencies. The conversation analyses proceeded in three steps: first, the context in which the utterance occurs was identified; second, the type of implicature was classified; and third, which Gricean maxim is flouted or strategically observed. The results indicate all the chosen utterances are specific conversational implicatures due to their context-specific interpretation, the social implicitness involved, and the character relationships involved in the utterances. The Maxim of Quantity was the most commonly violated maxim, followed by Relation, Manner, and Quality. The analysis also shows that Austen skillfully uses implicature as a narrative and stylistic device: it is through their unsaid words that the characters often unveil their hidden feelings and desires, social judgments and moral tensions, and interpersonal power relations. For this reason, implicature in Emma is not just a linguistic phenomenon but also a fundamental aspect of Austen's artistic practice and one of the most powerful means through which irony, characterization and social commentary are produced in the novel.
