The doctor-patient conversation is the major way of communication between doctors and patients.A good conversation helps to construct a harmonious doctor-patient relationship.This paper attempts to analyze the doctor-patient conversation by applying the Theory of Conversational Implicature.The theory is accepted as the cooperative principle consisting of four maxims:quantity,quality,relation,manner.This paper will analyse how the four maxims work and the violating of the maxims in the doctor-patient conversation.Through linguistic study of the conversation,we try to find out the problems in the doctor-patient conversation and to provide some directive linguistic suggestions to doctors and patients.
