Chapter 3: Presupposition

Agenda: Recap on entailment Do the HW exercises Introduce a new kind of inference: presupposition Comparison between entailment and presupposition Recognize different types of presuppositions and their triggers. Recognize different types of sentences. Do exercises. Introduce chapter 4.

Types of inferences Entailment Presupposition Entailment is a kind of inference that depends mainly on semantic properties of words. Based on this inference, truth conditions of statements are determined. In terms of TC, statements are 3 kinds. Applies to statements only. Presupposition is a kind of entailment that depends on what is assumed either through the grammar, through our knowledge of the world or assumed lexical meaning. It applies to all sentence types: dec., Inter. or imp.

Presupposition- Define Learning outcomes: Recognize different sentence types. Recognize that presuppositions apply to all sentence types: declaratives, interrogatives and imperatives. Recognize different triggers of presuppositions: Structural triggers: Wh- questions, subordinate clauses and definite articles. Existential presupposition: possessive pronouns, demonstrative pronouns and definite articles. Lexical triggers

Presupposition applies to all sentence Types: Recognize different sentence types. Sentence structure and function: You are a clever student. Are you a clever student? What kind of student are you? Work hard! What a clever student you are!

Chapter 3: Presupposition What do you see in the picture?

Chapter 3: Presupposition Did you get a look at my face when I took your purse? He has a face She has a purse?

How did we get to these conclusions based on what he said??? Using my face presupposes that he has a face! Using your purse presupposes that she has a purse! The question itself “did you see me when I took your purse?” Presupposes that he took the purse and the question is did she see him or not?????

What does the lawyer presuppose?

What does the lawyer presuppose?

Why there is no presupposition here?

Types of presuppositions: Existential Structural Lexical The, This, your Wh. Q Sub. clauses Stop Manage Etc.

Read the sentences and identify the presupposition Structural presupposition: 1(a) You didn´t buy this awful coke, did you? 1(b) This coke is awful. Presupposition triggers: definite noun phrase – existential presupposition 2 (a) Did Mike give Anne that chocolate cake? 2 (b) There was a chocolate cake

Structural presupposition Wh-words (a) Why did Mike smash the television? (b) I wonder how/why/when Mike smashed the television. (c) Mike smashed the television.

Lexical presupposition regret, know, realize, discover, find out, I´m aware that...., It´s strange that...., pretend, imagine, dream, If I were...., stop, do something again. 1(a) Steve regrets buying a dog (b) Steve could hardly regret it since he didn´t buy the dog after all. 2(a) Meredyth pretends she´s a rock star. 2(b) Pretend? I thought Meredyth WAS a rock star. 3 (a) Ed should stop eating raw oysters. 3(b) What do you mean stop? Ed has never eaten a raw oyster in his life.

Exercise 1 Identify the presupposition in the following sentences: State the sentence type, the type of presupposition, the trigger and the presupposition inferred: 1 (a) Where has Claire looked for the keys? 1(b) Claire has looked for the keys. 2 (a) Did you buy this awful drink? 2(b) This drink is awful. 3 (a) Don´t sit on Ann´s sofa. 3(b) Ann has a sofa. 4 (a) Stop being naughty. 4(b) You are being naughty. 5 (a) Lucy knows that George is a crook. 5(b) George is a crook. 6 (a) I didn´t know George was a crook. 6(b) George was a crook.

Recognize different triggers of presuppositions: Do exercise 3.7 P. 23