Cultural Representation through Conversational Implicature in Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody: A Pragmatic Study

Farhan Nazar Muttaqin; Ervina CM Simatupang

doi:10.51673/jurnalistrendi.v11i4.3095

Farhan Nazar Muttaqin Universitas Widyatama
Ervina CM Simatupang English Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Widyatama, Bandung

DOI: https://doi.org/10.51673/jurnalistrendi.v11i4.3095

Keywords: pragmatics, conversational implicature, cultural representation

Abstract

Popular music exists not only as entertainment but also as a cultural discourse through which identities, beliefs, and social values which are communicated. Although conversational implicature examined in literary and media discourse, its role in constructing cultural representation in popular music remains widely unexplored. This study examined how conversational implicatures were realized in Queen's song and how they construct cultural representation within the lyrical discourse. A qualitative textual analysis was employed using (Grice, 1991) and (Hall et al., 2003). Data were collected from the official lyrics through document analysis using reflexive thematic coding, along with pragmatic and cultural interpretation. The analysis identified 17 conversational implicatures, categorized into religious representation (29.41%), identity and existential representation (35.29%), and historical-cultural symbolism (35.29%). The findings demonstrated that conversational implicatures function beyond indirect communication by constructing implicit cultural meanings through symbolic language, contextual inference, and shared cultural knowledge. Religious, existential, and historical references collectively represent moral values, identity negotiation, and European cultural heritage. In conclusion, this study performed as pragmatics and cultural studies by demonstrating that conversational implicature functions not only as an inferential mechanism but also as a representational mechanism through which cultural meanings are constructed in popular music discourse.

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