I Give You Face, Not Love

One of my friends claims that boys always say the same thing when breaking up with their girlfriends - "It's me, not you".

When I thought about it, I realised that's an example of the use of the generosity maxim.


I shall now attempt to see how breaking-up lines might go in terms of different maxims:

The tact maxim - "Have some time off to enjoy yourself while we are cooling down."

The generosity maxim - "I'll give you some space to enjoy yourself while we are cooling down."

The approbation maxin - "Dear, we've been through a lot of things together. Why don't we have some time off to cool down and enjoy more of our own personal space?"

The modesty maxim - "How selfish of me. I should have let us have some time to cool down long ago."

The agreement maxim - "You're such a jerk!" "I'm agree with you, dear. All I need now is some time off to get myself back on track."

The sympathy maxim - "I'm really sorry, dear, for what has happened. I think we need some time off now to reflect on everything."


I feel that, yes, different maxims lend different tones to the messages although basically they mean the same thing.

So, know the situation you are in and choose the appropriate maxim to use wisely!