Lesson Presupposition and Entailment I.what is presupposition? - Something the speaker assumes to be the case before to make an utterance - Speakers, not sentences, have presupposition Examples: • Jane no longer writes fiction  Presupposition: Jane once wrote fiction • Her bag was stolen  Presupposition: she had a bag • Have you talked to Hoa?  Presupposition : Hoa exists II Types of presupposition • Existential presupposition • Factive presupposition • Lexical presupposition • Structural presupposition • Non – factive presupposition • Counter – factual presupposition Existential presuposition: Assumption of the existence of the entities named by the speaker Ex: Hoa’s boyfriend is standing next to the door  Pr: A girl named Hoa exists & she has a boyfriend 2 Factive presupposition: - The presupposed information following a verb like ‘ know’, ‘regret’, ‘release’, etc can be treated as a fact Ex: - She didn’t know he was tired Pr: He was tired - I regret not going to her party Pr: I didn’t go to her party Lexical presupposition: In using one word, the speaker can act as if another meaning will be understood • Ex: - You make mistake a gain Pr: you made mistake before - Marry stopped running Pr: Mary used to run Structural presupposition: - It is an assumption associated with the use of certain structures - wh-question constructions For instance: • Why did you buy the car?  Pr: you bought the car • When did she travel to NewYork?  Pr: She travelled Non-factive presupposition: - It is an assumption refered to something that is not true - Some verbs used in those cases: dream, imagine, pretend • Ex: He dreamed that he was rich  Pr: He was not rich • We imagined that we were in London  Pr: we was not in London 6 Counter factual presupposition: - It is the assumption that what is presupposed is not only untrue, but also contrary to the facts - The use of second conditionals are examples of Counter factual presupposition • Ex: If Trung had a sister , she could help him to housework • Pr: Trung does not have sister III what is entailment?  Entailment  is defined as what logically follows from what is asserted in the utterance  Sentences, not speakers, have entailments  Ex: - Mary's brother bought three horses Entailments: Mary's brother bought something, three animals, two horses, one horse,etc - Mary broke the window Entailments : The window broke  - Everyone passed the examination Entailments: No-one failed the examination Differences between presupposition and entailment Presupposition Entailment - Something the speaker - Something that logically assumes to be the case before follows from what is asserted to make an utterance in the utterance - Speakers, not sentences, have - Sentences, not speakers, have presuppositions entailments - The entailments are communicated without being said and are not dependent on the speaker’s intention For example: John’ sister bought two houses  Presupposition: John exists and he has a sister  The entailment: John’s sister bought something; now she has houses, a house, and other similar logical consequences.  Thanks for your attention!!! [...]...Differences between presupposition and entailment Presupposition Entailment - Something the speaker - Something that logically assumes to be the case before follows from what is asserted to make an utterance in the utterance - Speakers, not sentences, have - Sentences, not speakers, have presuppositions entailments - The entailments are communicated without... Sentences, not speakers, have presuppositions entailments - The entailments are communicated without being said and are not dependent on the speaker’s intention For example: John’ sister bought two houses  Presupposition: John exists and he has a sister  The entailment: John’s sister bought something; now she has 2 houses, a house, and other similar logical consequences.  Thanks for your attention!!!