Sentence Relations

Question 1

Synonymy, contradiction, entailment, presupposition, tautology

Answer 1

Sentence relations are based on “truth value”

Entailment.
•Applies between sentences,
Truth of one ➡️ implies the truth of the other.
Ex: Everybody passed the exam
Nobody failed the exam
• The entailed sentence logically follows what the previous sentences says.
• The two sentences described similar situations.
The info in the 2nd sentence is what 1st sentence conveys.
• communicated
❌ dependent on speaker’s intention
• defined by truth
A t B t
A f B t/f
B f A f
B t A t/f

Presupposition
• between sentences where one proposes the other.
• an implicit assumption about world/background/belief relating to the previous sentence.
•speaker dependent. (Speaker’s ability/mental reps)

Synonymy: between sentences that have similar meaning.
Ex: my bother is not married/ my brother is a bachelor.

Contradiction: between contradictory sentences, inconsistent in meaning
Ex: my bother went to Rome/my brother has never been to Rome

Tautology: in sentences that are true by virtue but are informationally empty.
Ex: Rich people are rich

Question 2

Similarities and differences between entailment and presupposition.

Answer 2

Similarities
Sentence relations
Assumptions about what is already being said.

Differences

Entailment
Logically follows what’s been said
Speaker independent.
If negated, entitlement fails

Presupposition
Implicit assumption obtained from the given sentence.
Speaker dependent: pragmatic capability and mental representation
If negated , presupposition survives.