Presupposition and Entailment, by Dr.S.B

Slide 1: 

“Speakers usually design their linguistic messages on the basis of assumptions of what their hearers already know” PRESUPPOSITION AND ENTAILMENT By: Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar http://www.kau.edu.sa/SBANJER http://wwwdrshadiabanjar.blogspot.com Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 1

Slide 2: 

Pragmatics is the study of deixis, implicature, presupposition, speech acts, and aspects of discourse structure. (Levinson, 1983) Stephen C. Levinson Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 2

Presuppositions and entailments Two aspects of what is communicated but not said : 

Presuppositions and entailments Two aspects of what is communicated but not said Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 3

Presupposition : 

Presupposition A presupposition is something the speaker assumes to be the case prior to make an utterance. Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 4

Slide 5: 

Speakers, not sentences, have presuppositions, symbolized as >> . Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 5

Presupposition : 

Presupposition if someone tells you: “ your brother is waiting outside for you”, there is an obvious supposition that you have a brother. Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar EXAMPLE: 6

The notion of presupposition is generally traced back to German mathematician, logician and philosopher, Gottlob Frege (1848-1925), who noted in Frege (1952) that both (2a) and (2b) presuppose that Kepler actually existed. : 

Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar The notion of presupposition is generally traced back to German mathematician, logician and philosopher, Gottlob Frege (1848-1925), who noted in Frege (1952) that both (2a) and (2b) presuppose that Kepler actually existed. 2) a. Kepler died in misery b. Kepler did not die in misery. 7

English philosopher, Bertrand Russell (1872 – 1970) argued against this view in Russell (1905). He was concerned with the fact that (3) is meaningful, whether or not there actually is a King of France. : 

Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar English philosopher, Bertrand Russell (1872 – 1970) argued against this view in Russell (1905). He was concerned with the fact that (3) is meaningful, whether or not there actually is a King of France. 3) The King of France is wise. He proposed that this involves three assertions. There exists an x such that a) x is a King of France b) there is no other entity that is a King of France c) x is wise 8

presupposition triggers : 

presupposition triggers In any language, there are some expressions or constructions which can act as the sources of presuppositions. This kind of expressions or constructions is called presupposition triggers. Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 9

Examples with presupposition triggers : 

Examples with presupposition triggers (1) Definitive descriptions John saw the man with two heads >> There exists a man with two heads. (2) Factive verbs John realized that he was in debt >> John was in debt. (3) Change of state verbs Joan began to beat her husband >> Joan hadn’t been beating her husband. (4) Iterative The flying saucer came again >> The flying saucer came before. (5) Temporal clauses while Chomsky was revolutionizing linguistics, the rest of social science asleep >> Chomsky was revolutionizing linguistics. (6) Cleft sentences It was Henry who killed Rose >> Someone killed Rose. (7) Comparisons and contrasts Carol is a better linguist than Barbara >> Barbara is a linguist. The negative form of the above sentences has the same presupposition. Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 10

Slide 11: 

Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar Mary’s cat is cute. (p) Mary has a cat. (q) The relationship between two propositions: p >>q = p presupposes q 11

: 

Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar Mary’s cat isn’t cute. (NOT p) Mary has a cat. (q) If the speaker denies the proposition p (NOT p), the presupposition q doesn’t change. Not p >>q = Not p presupposes q 12

Slide 13: 

Presuppositions are associated with the use of a large number of words, phrases and structures. These linguistic forms are considered as indicators of potential presupposition, which can only become actual presupposition in contexts with speakers. Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 13 Types of Presupposition

Slide 14: 

1- Existential presupposition: Entities named by the speaker and assumed to be present - noun phrase. - possessive constructions. Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 14

: 

Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar noun phrase : "The Cold War has ended" 15 presupposes that the existence of the entities it refers to, in this case the "Cold War".

Slide 16: 

Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 16 we can presuppose that Tony exists and that he has a car. possessive constructions : “Tony’s car is new”

Slide 17: 

identified by the presence of some verbs such as "know“, "realize“, “be glad”, “be sorry”, etc. Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 17 2- Factive presupposition: (>> He was ill) She didn’t realize he was ill. We regret telling him. (>> We told him) I wasn’t aware that she was married. (>> She was married) It isn’t odd that he left early. I’m glad that it’s over. (>> He left early) (>> It’s over)

Slide 18: 

In using one word, the speaker can act as if another meaning will be understood. For instance: Mary stopped running. (>>She used to run.) You are late again. (>> You were late before.) Are you still such a bad driver? (>> You were a bad driver) "stop“, "again“ “still” are taken to presuppose another (unstated) concept. Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 18 3- Lexical presupposition:

Slide 19: 

it is the assumption associated with the use of certain structures. - wh-question constructions. When did she travel to the USA? ( >> she travelled) Where did you buy the book? (>> you bought the book) The listener perceives that the information presented is necessarily true, or intended as true by the speaker.. Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 19 4- Structural presupposition:

Slide 20: 

it is an assumption referred to something that is not true. For example, verbs like "dream", "imagine" and "pretend" are used with the presupposition that what follows is not true. I dreamed that I was rich. (>> I was not rich) We imagined that we were in London. (>> We were not in London) Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 20 5- Non- factive presupposition:

Slide 21: 

it is the assumption that what is presupposed is not only untrue, but is the opposite of what is true, or contrary to facts. conditional structures: If you were my daughter, I would not allow you to do this. ( >> you are not my daughter) If I were rich I would buy a Ferrari. (>> I’m not rich) Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar 21 6- Counterfactual presupposition:

Entailment is not a pragmatic concept. It is defined as what logically follows from what is asserted in the utterance, symbolized by II-. Sentences, not speakers, have entailments. : 

Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar Entailment is not a pragmatic concept. It is defined as what logically follows from what is asserted in the utterance, symbolized by II-. Sentences, not speakers, have entailments. 22

Speakers have presuppositions while sentences have entailments. Susan’s sister bought two houses. This sentence presupposes that Susan exists and that she has a sister. This sentence has the entailments that Susan’s sister bought something; a house, and other similar logical consequences, now she has 2 houses. The entailments are communicated without being said and are not dependent on the speaker’s intention. : 

Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar Speakers have presuppositions while sentences have entailments. Susan’s sister bought two houses. This sentence presupposes that Susan exists and that she has a sister. This sentence has the entailments that Susan’s sister bought something; a house, and other similar logical consequences, now she has 2 houses. The entailments are communicated without being said and are not dependent on the speaker’s intention. EXAMPLE: 23

Presupposition seems to contrast with entailment. If X presupposes Y, the negative counterpart of X also presupposes Y. (1a) presupposes (1b), and so does (1c). : 

Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar Presupposition seems to contrast with entailment. If X presupposes Y, the negative counterpart of X also presupposes Y. (1a) presupposes (1b), and so does (1c). 1) a. The King of France is bald. b. There is a King of France. c. The King of France is not bald. If X entails Y, the negative counterpart of X does not entail Y. (2a) entails (2b), but (2c) does not. 2) a. The President of Polvenia is a bachelor. b. The President of Polvenia is unmarried. c. The President of Polvenia is not a bachelor. 24 PRESUPPOSITIONS ENTAILMENTS

Rover chased three squirrels. a) Something chased three squirrels. b) Rover did something to three squirrels. c) Rover chased of something. d)Something happened. : 

Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar Rover chased three squirrels. a) Something chased three squirrels. b) Rover did something to three squirrels. c) Rover chased of something. d)Something happened. Ordered Entailments 25

Slide 26: 

Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar The speaker will necessarily produce a very large number of background entailments, but the speaker will indicate how these entailments are to be ordered. How? by stress by using special structures So The hearer will understand which entailment is assumed to be more important for interpreting intended meaning. 26

Slide 27: 

Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar BOB ate three sandwiches. Bob ATE three sandwiches. Bob ate THREE sandwiches. Bob ate three SANDWICHES. THE FOREGROUND ENTAILMENT 27

Slide 28: 

Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar a) It was TOM that did the work. b) It wasn’t ME who took your jacket. 28 It-cleft construction/cleft sentences Cleft sentences are used to help us focus on a particular part of the sentence and to emphasise what we want to say … Because there are two parts … they are called cleft (from the verb cleave) which means divided into two.

Slide 29: 

Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar Cleft sentences are particularly useful in writing where we cannot use intonation for purposes of focus or emphasis, but they are also frequently used in speech. Cleft structures include the reason why, the thing that, the person/people who, the place where, the day when and what-clauses which are usually linked to the clause that we want to focus on with is or was. From: BBC World service 29

Presuppositions vs. entailments : 

Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar Presuppositions vs. entailments Presuppositions are different from entailments: 1) She hasn’t stopped smoking. Still presupposes She used to smoke. 2) My dog didn’t eat my bag. Still presupposes I have a dog, and I (still, it seems) have a bag. while The emperor wasn’t assassinated. Does not entail any more XXXXXX 1)Someone was assassinated. XXXXXX2)The emperor died. 30

Slide 31: 

Dr. Shadia Y. Banjar HAVE A NICE DAY! 31