ABSTRACT
Language in a cosmopolitan setting reflects the various features of the

complexities of the different languages that interact in that setting. This

leads to different forms of interaction in order to find common meeting

grounds for communication in a context which would have been made

impossible by the non-availability of a common means of interaction. That

language is sensitive to its context of use, is the defining insights of linguists

on the subject. In Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where this study focused

on, students who come from different linguistic backgrounds are forced to

interact on the platform of a common code of communication. However, the

situation becomes slightly different when the students interact with the

community most members of which (like drivers and commercial

motorcyclists) lack access to the sort of linguistic codes which the students

use. This situation gives rise to different sorts of departures from the norm

which in turn affects the outcome of verbal interaction. This study is

therefore and examination of the pragmatic structure of the interaction

between the students and the commercial transport operators using the

pragmatic theory of H.P. Grice. The maxims are used to analyse data

sourced from the students' interactions while in transit. The analysis shows

that various sorts of implicatures arise as a result of the cooperative nature

of the interaction which would otherwise have led to communication

breakdown.