PSP Flashcards
What is a Presupposition?
A presupposition is something that the speaker assumes to be the case prior to making an utterance. It’s the speakers, not the sentences that have presuppositions.
For example, if someone tells you, ‘Jane’s sister got married’, there’s an obvious presupposition that Jane has a sister.
Existential Presupposition:
The speaker presupposes the existence of the entities.
Ex:
Marie’s house is new.
Marie exists.
Marie has a house.
Factive Presupposition:
Certain verbs or constructions indicate that something is a fact.
Ex:
I regret believing him.
I believed him.
I’m glad it’s over.
It’s over.
Lexical Presupposition:
The speaker can convey another meaning using one word
He called me again.
He called me before.
She gave up smoking.
She used to smoke.
Structural Presupposition:
Use of certain words and phrases makes some presuppositions.
When did you call her?
You called her.
Why did you buy this dress?
You bought a dress.
Non- factive Presupposition:
Certain words indicate that some things are not true.
I pretended to agree with her.
I did not agree with her.
She dreamt she was rich.
She is not rich.
Counterfactual Presupposition:
It implies that what is presupposed is not true, and the contrary is true.
If he hadn’t been my friend, I wouldn’t have helped him.
He is my friend.
