Breaking Silence: A Pragmatic Analysis of Grice’s Maxim of Quantity in the Disability Discourse of Sara Nović’s True Biz

Abstract

The current study explores the application of Grice’s Maxim of Quantity in Sara Nović’s True Biz to investigate linguistic and identity conflict in and around the Deaf community. The study highlights how language acts as both a limit, and capacity for independence in Deaf-hearing interactions, using qualitative textual analysis through Gricean pragmatics and disability discourse. Moreover, the study demonstrates how omissions of direct speech and vagueness in dialogue indicate deeper systemic issues of exclusion, stigma, and negotiation of identity for Deaf individuals. For example, through interactions between February Waters, an adult hearing character, and Charlie, a Deaf child character, communication goes awry not simply as a matter of spoken or written words but is ultimately grounded in more complex structural inequalities. The findings also connect to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals focused on equitable education and reduced inequalities for Deaf individuals. Ultimately, the novel True Biz engages and reflects upon the social and psychological consequences of communicatively deprived entanglements in the Deaf community and emphasises the need to rethink Deaf identity and share accessibility practices. This research adds to interdisciplinary scholarship and extends discourse analysis to disability studies by analysing the complexity of identity, communication, and differences in positions of power in marginalised and under-resourced communities.