Pragmatics 25.11.

2005
Presuppositions and Presupposition projection
1. Presupposition Tests
2. A sample case: Does even give rise to implicatures (Grice, 1975) or presuppositions
(Rooth, 1985. Association with Focus. PhD diss., University of Massachusetts at Amherst)?
3. Accommodation
4. Presupposition projection
(see last weeks slides)

Presuppositions and other discourse dependent items

(Bart Geurts, 1999. Presuppositions and Pronouns. Chap. 2. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
following Rob van der Sandt. 1992. Presupposition Projection as Anaphor Resolution. Journal
of Semantics 9.333-377.)
Situation deixis and discourse deixis.
(1)

He must be a genius.
Once upon a time, there was a rich and powerful king. He was a genius.

(2)

The sun is shining.

A sun is shining.

(3)

There is a bird in the garden.

The bird is red and brown.

Certain constituents of sentences (most prominently NPs) introduce discourse referents:

Something like hypothetic objects and persons that constitute the present universe of things
we are talking about. They constitute possible objects that can be referred to deictically.
Possible and impossible antecendents of discourse deictics.
(4)

There is a bird in the garden. It is red and brown.

(5)

There isnt any bird in the garden. It is red and brown.

Either John has a bird or it is in the garden.
Every bird had left for Africa. It was hungry.

(6)

Every bird that had caught a worm ate it right away.

Anaphoric elements (pronouns, definites) need to be resolved, i.e. to be understood as

coreferent with discourse referents. Not everything that has been mentioned anywhere in
earlier sentences is an accessible antecedent.

Specifically:
Plain unembedded existentials and names introduce discourse referents (DRs) that are
accessible in subsequent discourse.
(7)

There is a bird in Hyde Park. It is red.

<fig./blackboard>
Little Joe entered the APEX. He was red.
<fig.>

Quantifiers introduce discourse referents that are accessible in the description of the things
quantified over (restrictor) and the prediaction that is made with respect to these things
(nucleus).
(8)

Every bird that has a worm in its nest must be happy.

<fig.>

(9)

Every bird that had caught a worm went to its nest.

<fig.>

Other discourse referents that are introduced in the restrictor of a quantifier are accessible for
anaphors in its nucleus.
(10)

Every bird that caught a worm ate it right away.

<fig.>

(11)

Most birds that caught a worm are it right away.

Few birds that caught a worm ate it right away.
Some of the birds that caught a worm ate it right away.

(12)

Always when a woman catches a moth, she carries it straight into her trashbin.
<fig.>

No discourse referent that is introduced by an indefinite NP in the restrictor or nucleus of a

quantifier is accessible (effortless) in subsequent sentences.
(13)

Every bird caught a worm.

It was red.
<fig.>

... unless the sentence is actually understood as expanding on the nucleus.

(14)

Every book comes with a photo of Harry Potter. It is taped to the last page of the
book/it/.
<fig.>

No discourse referent that is introduced by an indefinite NP in the scope of negation is

available outside its scope.
(15)

No bird managed to catch a worm. *It was too slippery.

<fig.>

Note: Discourse referents that are introduced by proper names are accessible everywhere.
(16)

Every book about John Paul II was sold out. He is very popular.
No book about Willi Wurzel has been sold. He is very unpopular.
If a book about Willi Wurzel can be sold, I will be surprised. He is very unpopular.
Most books about Benedikt have been sold. He is pretty popular.

Modal subordination: Discourse referents that are introduced by existential NPs in the scope
of a modal expression are not easily accessible outside the scope of the modal opperator.
(17)

Susan believed that a mouse was in the kitchen.

?It was grey.
Pete hopes that he will catch a salmon in the lake.
?It is pretty clever.
<fig>
Compare:

(18)

Peter hopes that he will catch Nessie in Loch Ness.

She is pretty clever.
<fig.>

Next week: A structural parallel between presupposition projection and anaphor resolution.
Or Discourse structure manages it all.