PragmaticPresupposition英文版PPT课件.ppt

Pragmatic PresuppositionPresuppositionDoes he lie?nBoss: If you want to work here, young man, you must know we require cleanliness. Did you remember to wipe your feet on the mat?nMan: Oh yes, sir!nBoss: And another thing; we require truthfulness. There is no mat!21 Definetion 1.1 The philosophical tradition 1.2 The pragmatic definition 1.1.1 abroad studies 1.1.2 domestic studies2 Properties of Pragmatic Presupposition 2.1Mutual Knowledge 2.2 Appropriateness 2.3 Defeasibility 2.4 Additivity3 Presupposition triggers 34 Types of presuposition 4.1 Potential presupposition vs. existential presupposition 4.2 Factive presupposition vs. non-factive presupposition 4.3 Lexical presupposition vs. structural presupposition 5 Function of Pragmatic Presupposition6 The projection probem7 Conclusion8 Bibliography41.1 The philosophical traditionn Gottlob Frege, the first philosopher who brought presupposition to the notice of the scholarly world, published an article On Sense and Reference in 1892. He went on to examine the sense and reference of sentences. If anything is asserted there is always an obvious presupposition that the simple or compound proper names used have a reference.For example: John works very hard.It presupposes that there must be someone called John.1 Definetion5nFrege thus sketches a theory of presupposition with the following presuppositions:n(i)Referring phrases and temporal clauses carry presuppositions to the effeet that they do in fact refer;n(ii)A sentence and its negative counterpart share the same set of presuppositions;n(iii)In order for an assertion or a sentence to be either true or false,its presuppositions must be true or satisfied. (Frege,1952:69)6n Stalnaker first proposed the concept of pragmatic presupposition.He believes that pragmatic presupposition is not only related to the context, but also related to the propositional attitude of speaker.n A proposition P is a pragmatic presupposition of a speaker in a given context just in case the speaker assumes or believes that P, assumes or believes that his addressee assumes or believes that P, and assumes or believes his addressee recognizes that he is making these assumptions, or has these beliefs.” (Stalnaker,1974) n Therefore, pragmatic presupposition is actually a judgment or assumption of the knowledge of the hearer from the speaker, which is the fact that the speaker thinks right or the hearer ought to accept.1.2 The pragmatic definition1.1.1 Abroad studies 7n Pragmatic presupposition is like appropriate conditions that the effective implement of a speech act must satisfy or a sentence must satisfy for the purpose of the necessary social appropriateness. It is a certain condition that is triggered by a sentence, whose responsibility is to effectively implement an illocutionary act. (Fillmore ,1971) Pragmatic presupposition is the relationship between a speaker and the appropriateness of a sentence in context. In his opinion, pragmatic presupposition is not studied on the sentence level, but on the communicational level of the speaker and the hearer. (Keenan ,1971) 8n Presupposition of the utterance is used to indicate the common knowledge of the speaker and the hearer. When the speaker makes an utterance and the hearer understands it in a certain context, they must own some common knowledge. (Jackendoff,1972)ne.g. John has a sister.n The common knowledge of the communicators is that John exists. The speaker’s saying and the hearer’s understanding of the utterance are all based upon the common knowledge, which is viewed as pragmatic presupposition.9nPresupposition concerning the baekground assumption made in the Proeess of communieation is a highly technieal subject. (LeoHickey&Faweeff,1998:114)n Presupposition is not only a potential complex object of study,but also one where explanatory theories have been supported and attacked by examPle and enounter-example,with the seeing most of the battle. (Faweeff1998:114)10Pragmatic presupposition are assumptions made by the speaker on what the hearer may accept undoubtedly. (Givon ,1979)Levinson (1983) defines pragmatic presupposition as common knowledge, which is held by the two sides in the communication and is a necessary condition for successful communication.11 Presupposition refers to the things that are accepted by communicative parties in communication. (Chen Zongming ,1984) There are three different understandings of presupposition: speaker’s assumption for the context, the necessary condition of a speech act and the common knowledge or background knowledge. (He Zhaoxiong ,1989) As the factual basis of the whole situation or fact that a sentence expresses, presupposition is the objective situation and condition that are reflected or implied in the semantics. (Xu Shenghuan ,1993) 12nPresupposition is the proposition that speaker assumes and builds in his mind when speaking. (Lan Chun ,1999) nPresupposition is a kind of pragmatic inference, which infers the prerequisite of the utterance from logical concept, semantics and context based on the actual meaning of linguistic structures. Presupposition is not expressed clearly by literal meaning of language. It’s implicit. Even though presupposition does not directly appear in the topic, it is known by two participants in the conversation. (He Ziran ,1988) 13Hu Zehong (1996) explains pragmatic presupposition from three aspects:nPragmatic presupposition is a propositional attitude; nPragmatic presupposition is common knowledge shared by the two sides in specific communicative environment;nPragmatic presupposition is the condition that enables a statement to be appropriate in the process of communication.1.1.2 Domestic studies14 All in all,linguists have different view on the definition of presupposition, but till today, they have not reached a consensus. Here is a definition from Longman Dictionary ofLanguage Teaching and Applied Linguistics (2009:536):Presupposition is what a speaker or writer assumes that the receiver of the message already knows. For example:Speaker A: What about inviting John tonight?Speaker B: What a good idea; then he can give Mary a lift.152 Properties of Pragmatic Presuppositionn Since pragmatic presupposition rooted itself in linguistics, many linguists have been working to explain it thoroughly. As to the features of it, professor He Ziran(1988) made his efforts to tell that there arefour major properties to pragmatic presupposition:n 2.1Mutual Knowledgen 2.2 Appropriateness n 2.3 Defeasibilityn 2.4 Additivity162.1 Mutual KnowledgenMutual knowledge is a property of pragmatic presupposition, which holds that presupposition refers to the information that both parties of communication know. There are three cases of mutual knowledge.n First, presupposition is the information mutually known by communicative parties or average people, which is closely connected with the context.nSecond, mutual knowledge is implied in the speaker’s utterances and then can be understood by the hearer. nThird, sometimes mutual knowledge only refers to the things mutually known by communicative parties, so the third party may not really understand the content of discourse if he or she doesn’t know the presupposition and just relies on the context. (He Ziran, 1988:138)17nThe following is an example which communicative parties lack the mutual knowledge of presupposition:nE.G. nPriya: I want to catch up with all of you, but first I really must visit the loo.nLeonard: I’m going, too. I’ll show you where it is.nRajesh: All right, this goes without saying, but I’m just going to say it anyway. Hands off my sister.nSheldon: Why would I touch her? She’s covered with air plane germs.(Laughter…) (Episode 6, Season 4, The Big Bang Theory)18nIn this conversation, Rajesh warns his friends not to touch his sister for fear that they will fall in love with his sister. However, Sheldon has a different presupposition of “hands off” with Rajesh. He does not presuppose “Hands off my sister” as “not to fall in love with Rajesh’s sister”. According to the plot, it is well-known that Sheldon is a total clean freak and hasn’t any interest in getting a girlfriend. For this reason, Sheldon can’t reach an agreement with Rajesh on the exact meaning of “hands off my sister”. They lack the mutual knowledge of presupposition.19nE.G.n(Scene: When Penny knew that Sheldon got fired, she wants to comfort him.)Penny: Well, maybe it’s all for the best. You know, I always say when one doorcloses, another one opens.Sheldon: No, it doesn’t. Not unless the two doors are connected by relays or there are motion sensors involved. Penny: No, no, I meant...Sheldon: Or if the first door closing creates a change of air pressure that acts upon the second door. (Laughter…)Penny: Never mind. (Episode 4, Season 1, The Big Bang Theory)20nHere Sheldon cancels the appropriateness of presupposition accidentally again. On his own side, Sheldon falsely presupposes “when one door closes, anther one opens” as a physical phenomenon. nAccording to the context and background knowledge, the audience can easily understand that what Penny utters is not a physical phenomenon but a proverb. nSheldon does not take the contextual factors and background knowledge into account, and does not perceive that Penny is comforting him for his unemployment. Sheldon is a physicist whose mind is full of physical theories. It is very natural for him to neglect the contextual factors and background knowledge and presuppose“when one door closes, anther one opens” as a physical phenomenon.212.2 AppropriatenessnThe appropriateness of presupposition means only when presupposition is appropriate can verbal communication go smoothly. Presupposition can be objective facts or the things that the speaker views as facts in his mind or assumptions. (He Ziran, 1988: 100)nIn other words, presuppositions are communicative parties’ attitudes and their understandings of a proposition or an utterance. Therefore,presupposition itself does not have to be true or correct since it is subjective. (HeZiran, 1988: 126) nAppropriateness also means that presupposition must be closely associated with context and it is the precondition of speech acts. 222.3 DefeasibilitynThe defeasibility of presupposition refers to the fact that presupposition will disappear with the change of the utterance or the context. nHe Zhaoxiong (1989) holds that defeasibility is the common feature of pragmatic inference since context is a significant factor in pragmatic studies. nCertain language structures can generate presupposition, but the repulsion between background information, the specific context and speech contents will give rise to the disappearance of presupposition. 23nE.G.n Leonard: Well, I’ve dated plenty of women. There was Joyce Kim… Leslie Winkle…nSheldon: Notify the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary. The word “plenty” has been redefined to mean “two”. (Laughter…) (Episode 2, Season 2, The Big Bang Theory)24n In this scene, Leonard considers that he has dated plenty of women and he is charming for women. But actually he has dated only two women. His utterance presupposes that “plenty” means “two”. The reason why Leonard said so is that he persistently thinks that he is popular with women. Leonard’s intentional cancellation of the appropriateness of presuppositions is a way for him to cheat himself and achieve self-esteem. On the other hand, Sheldon knows what Leonard means, but in order to refute the aggressive Leonard, he pretends not to perceive the contradiction in Leonard’s utterance and accepts the literal meaning of Leonard’s utterance. Sheldon cancels the appropriateness of presupposition intentionally out of certain purpose, i.e. satirizing Leonard’s self-esteem.252.4 AdditivitynThe additivity of presupposition means that presupposition can be added by the speaker through providing supplementary information in his or her following utterance. nAs mentioned above, presupposition is common knowledge held by communicative parties and is also a necessary precondition that should be met so as to make the communication go smoothly. nWhen communicative parties lack of common knowledge, it is liable that the communication will break off. At this time, communicatiuhve parties can add presupposition to make up the front information gap through providing more supplementary information and tell the truth.26nPenny: Okay, it’s done. Look, guys, for the future. I don’t mind killing the big spiders. But you have to at least try with the little ones.nSheldon: Penny, please. We’re facing a far more serious problem than stray arachnids.nLeonard: Sheldon, it’s not that bad.nSheldon: Not bad? It’s horrible. I mean, you hear stories about this sort of thing. But you never think it’ll happen to you.nLeonard: So they steamed your dumplings. Get over it. (Laughter…) (Episode 19, Season 2, The Big Bang Theory)27n In this scene, Penny helps Sheldon and Leonard kill the big spiders. Penny tells these guys that she doesn’t mind killing the big spiders but they should try to kill the little ones. Sheldon utters that they are facing a more serious problem than the big spiders. n The presupposition of Sheldon’s utterance is that there is a more serious problem than the big spiders.Sheldon’s friend Leonard does not refute Sheldon’s utterance immediately but gives him some hints that the problem is not that bad.n However, Sheldon goes on exaggerating the seriousness of the problem. Therefore, Leonard adds some information to reveal the truth: the problem Sheldon refers to is that his friends steamed his dumplings.Through using the additivity of the presupposition, Leonard achieves his aim, i.e. ridiculing and bantering Sheldon.28 3 Presupposition triggersnIn the analysis of how speaker’s assumptions are typically expressed, presupposition has been associated with the use of a large number of words, phrases, and structures, known as presupposition-triggers. nIn his Pragmatics , Stephen C. Levinson on the basis of Karttunen (31 types) lists 13 types of them, which he regards as the set of core phenomena, reproduced here with simplification and some other modifications. ※Stephen C. Levinson is an influential social scientist,known for his studies of the relations between culture, language and cognition.Levinson was one of the driving forces behind a re-evaluation of the notion of linguistic relativity in the early nineties.29nMr. He classified presupposition into three group in his Pragmatics and English Study (1997),(the symbol “＞＞” means “presuppose” , the italicized words means presupposition triggers) . A:verbs (implicative verbs, factive verbs);B:commentary adjectives and adverbs, change-of-state verbs, verbs of judging,definitive verbs; C: phrases or clauses (conditional clauses, infinite clauses, questions). 30A:1. Factive verbs (实情动词) ---sth. has happened.regret, realize, know, be odd, be strange, be proud/ pleased/ disappointed/ aware/ sorry/glad that etc. e.g. I’m sorry that your dog died.>> Your dog died.2.Implicative verbs(含蓄动词)---containing two meaningsmanage, forget,happen e.g. I forget to bring the book. >>I ought to have brought the book. (He Ziran,1997)31B:3. Definite descriptionsthe,this/ that + NP, the 3rd person pronoun, possessive + n etc. e.g. John’s wife is a school teacher. >> John has a wife.4. Change of state verbs(表示状态改变的动词) finish, stop, begin, start, carry on, continue, cease, leave, arrive, enter, come, go, turn etc. e.g. The guests arrived at 6. >> The guests were not here before 6.5. Iteratives (表反复的词语)---repetition & continuity e.g. I’m visiting China for the third time. >>I have visited China twice before.6. Verbs of judging (判断性动词) e.g. Peter accused Smith of forgery. >>Peter thinks forgery is bad. (He Ziran,1997)32C:7. Temporal clauses (时间状语从句时间状语从句)e.g. After his father died he stepped into a large fortune. >>His father died.8.Cleft sentence (断裂句断裂句)e.g. It was /wasn’t Herry that kissed Rosie. >>Someone kissed Rosie.9. Non-restrictive attributive clauses(非限定性定语从句非限定性定语从句)e.g. The island of Japan, which are located to the east of China, have frequently been struck by earthquakes of varying forces. >>The island of Japan are located to the east of China. (He Ziran,1997) 33 10.Structures and expressions indicating comparison (表比较的结构与表达表比较的结构与表达)e.g. Your house resembles ours. >>We have a house.11. Counterfactual conditionals(与事实相反的条件句与事实相反的条件句)e.g. If I had not burnt the cake, we would be having it for tea. >>I burnt the cake.12.Questionse.g. Does he speak English or French? >>He speaks either English or French.13. Phonological presuppositionThe phonological presupposition refers to shift the core of the tone of the sentence.e.g.This work was not done by 'NIC.＞＞Someone did this work. (He Ziran,1997)34nPotential presupposition vs. existential presuppositionnFactive presupposition vs. non-factive presuppositionnLexical presupposition vs. structural presuppositionGeorge Yule in 1996 held that pragmatic presupposition can be classified differently into three groups according to different criterion.4.Types of presuposition354.1 Potential presupposition vs. existential presuppositionnExistential presupposition: An assumption that someone or something, identified by use of a noun phrase, does exist.nPotential presupposition: An assumption typically associated with use of a linguistic form.ne.g. a) Is Mike giving Annie that chocolate cake? Is Mike giving Annie a chocolate cake? b) You’ll want DomeBeGone, my revolutionary cure for baldness. There is a cure for baldness. The cure is revolutionary. I have this cure. (Yule,1996:28) 36nThe wife: You should have a look at what Prof. Yu’s doing, because when he is about to leave home, he always gives a kiss to his wife. So why don’t you do this like him?nThe husband: How can I do that?nThe wife: Why can’t you do that?nThe husband: I even don’t know the wife of Prof. Yu and let alone have the courage to kiss her. (Xiao Jiu and Lao Le, 1991)n妻子：你看看人家于教授，都多大岁数了，每天上班下班还都亲媳妇儿一 口，你就不能亲一口?n丈夫：那我哪能亲啊。

n妻子：为什么不能亲呢?n丈夫：于教授的媳妇儿我也不认识，人家也不能让我亲 （小品《小九老乐》，1991）374.2 Factive presupposition vs. non-factive presuppositionnFactive presupposition: The assumption that information stated after certain words, e.g. “know”, “regret”…nNon-factive presupposition: The assumption that certain information ,as presented, is not true. ne.g.nShe didn’t realize he was ill. (>> He was ill)nWe regret telling him. (>> We told him) nI dreamed that I was rich. (>> I was not rich)nWe imagined we were in Hawaii. (>> We were not in Hawaii) (Yule,1996:29)38nSong Dandan: It was definitely not an exaggeration that when I was young, I was cute with small red lips and arched eyebrows. Anyone who saw me would glance at me once more. We had a neighbor called Wu Laoer, and he would even tremble when he saw me.nZhao Benshan: Yeah, you are quite right. Wu Laoer had an illness of cerebral thrombus. He was trembling when seeing anyone. (Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, 1999)n宋丹丹饰妻子：那我年轻的时候，绝对不是吹，柳叶弯眉、樱桃口，谁见了我都乐意瞅。

俺们隔壁有个吴老二，瞅我一眼，就浑身发抖n赵本山饰丈夫：呵呵，对，吴老二脑血栓，看谁都有点哆嗦 （小品《昨天，今天，明天》，1999）39nAccording to whether it conforms to the fact, pragmatic presupposition can be classified into factual and none-factual ones. The former conforms to the fact while the latter does not. ne.g. Two women are talking about Mary, who has just received a present.nA: Mary’s husband is so kind to her. B: Yeah, he is very thoughtful.nIn this conversation, A’s utterance has the pragmatic presupposition “Mary has got a husband and her husband is very kind to her.” Seeing from B’s reply, the presupposition is true. The husband exists and is very thoughtful. This is a factual presupposition.404.3 Lexical presupposition vs. structural presuppositionLiterally speaking,lexical prusuppositions focus on the part while stuctural ones stress the whole.nLexical presupposition:nHe managed to open the door. >> He tried to open the doornHe stopped smoking. >> He used to smokenStructural presupposition:nWhy did Mike smash the television? >> I don’t understand why Mike smashed the television.nI wonder if Mike smashed the television. >>I wonder how Mike smashed the television. (Yule,1996:30) 41nXiao Shenyang: I will mention a person to you, your desk mate, and your classmate, Da Chengzi.nGui Qing acted by Li Lin: I know Da Chengzi, and what is your relationship with him?nXiao Shenyang: I am his father. No, no, he is my son. (You, My Deskmate, 2011)n小沈阳：和你提个人，你同桌，你同学，大成子。

n桂琴李林饰：大成子我知道啊，你是他什么人呢？n小沈阳：我是他爹，不对，他是我儿子 （小品《同桌的你》，2011）42435.Function of Pragmatic PresuppositionnFirst, pragmatic presupposition makes conversation concise. nEconomy is an important principle of linguistic conversation; mutual background and implicitness of pragmatic presupposition make sure that both the speaker and the listener have concise but enough information. 44For example:na) Give me the book please.nb) I want a book. You know which book I am referring to and you have the ability to take it and bring it to me. You are will to help me, so please give the book to me.n Utterance a) is brief but has enough information, so the speaker can achieve his or her conversation purpose; otherwise, the speaker of utterance b) can also achieve the same purpose, it is rather wordy and redundant. In fact, all information in b) is presupposed by a simple utterance a).45nSecond, pragmatic presupposition helps the speaker to hide communication purposes. If speakers express some information through presupposition, the information may become more convincing. This is best reflected in advertisement. The principles of a piece of successful advertisement is broadcasting but not boasting, convincing but not disgusting. nFor example: the advertisement of Maxwell House Coffee: Good to the last drop.n This slogan presupposes that Maxwell House Coffee is of good taste. It is brief but persuadable, not telling people how tasty it is but instead telling its good even to the last drop.46nThird, pragmatic presupposition provides connecting for the coherence of utterances. Seeing from semantic point of view, many utterances in daily communication are not mutually connected, but they can ensure the success of communication. That’s because both the speaker and the hearer have the pragmatic presupposition that makes the utterance felicitous. nFor example: Jack: What’s the time? Jerry: The postman just arrived.nSuperficially speaking, Jerry’s response has nothing to do with Jack’s question.However, Jack knows the postman arrives at 12 a.m. every day. So, the time must be around 10 o’clock.47nFourth, pragmatic presupposition can produce humorousness. As is known to all,speakers can make different presuppositions according to different conversation contexts,and assume the hearers can understand, so that the communication will be successful.nHowever, sometimes, hearers misunderstand or ignore such presuppositions on purpose and hence produce some special effects such as humorousness. 48nFor example: Girl: If we become engaged, will you give me a ring? Boy: Sure. What’s your phone number?nThe girl has feelings toward the boy and hopes the boy to give her an engagement ring. The girl’s presupposition is understandable to everyone. But the boy misunderstands it purposely, seeing engagement “ring” as phone “ring”. He ignores the girl’s intention and implies that he doesn’t love her.496.The projection probemnPragmatics deals with the meanings and effects that come from the use of language in particular situations. Presupposition is the most common phenomenon in daily conversation. nSuch a strictly truth-conditional definition of presupposition fails on several counts:nFirst, there is more to sentences than the abstract truth value they carry when viewed as logical propositions. nSecond, sentences, when spoken, can’t be considered in isolation from the speaker and the listener, who are relevant factors in any situation of language.n Third, we do not live our lives, or speak, by truth conditions alone: “truth” is at best one among many other concerns that people have. (Jacob, 2001:145) 50nThe term “projection” comes from transformational grammar, in which it refers to the assignment of semantic interpretation of a sentence on the basis of the semantic interpretation of its constituents. nIn the present context, it refers to the interpretation of a complex sentence on the basis of its constituent clauses. It is discovered that the presupposition of a constituent clause may not be inherited by the complex sentence as a whole. (Yule,1996:29)51nAn entailment is something that necessarily follows from what is asserted. And entailments destroy the presupposition to project. The power of entailment can also be used to cancel existential presuppositions.E.g. n---The King of England visited us. The King of England doesn’t exist!n---What’s that guy doing in the parking lot? >>He is looking for his car or something. (Yule,1996:30)52I imagined that Kelly was ill and nobody realized that she was ill.E.g. Nobody realized that Kelly was ill.(=p) Kelly was ill. (=q) p>>q I imagined that Kelly was ill. (=r) Kelly was not ill. (=NOT q) r>> NOT q I imagined that Kelly was ill and nobody realized that she was ill. (= r & q) r & q >> NOT q (Yule,1996:31)53E.g.Shirley: It’s so sad. George regrets getting Mary pregnant. Jean: But he didn’t get her pregnant. We know that now.George regrets getting Mary pregnant; but he didn’t get her pregnant. George regrets getting Mary pregnant. (=p) George got Mary pregnant. (=q) p>>q He didn’t get her pregnant. (=r) George regrets getting Mary pregnant; but he didn’t get her pregnant. (p & r) p & r>> NOT q (Yule,1996:32) 54 Pragmatic presupposition is the beginning of information and the key for construction and understanding utterance. The research into pragmatic presupposition is of great significance. Some scholars defined pragmatic presupposition as the relationship that is sensitive to context and directly concerned with the intention and assumption of the speaker. It is also a common phenomenon in daily communication. Though not apparently existing for people, it is of undeniable importance as a pragmatic strategy. This study holds that the analysis of pragmatic presupposition can offer theoretic basis for judging pragmatic presuppositions in daily communication. What is more, this study can help the success of communication and enhance the mutual understanding ofcommunicators.7 Conclusion55nA: Your boyfriend is such a good guy.nB:My boyfriend is a good guy.DiscussionWhat are their presuppositions ? 56nGeorge Yule.Pragmatics[M],Oxford univesity press ,1996.nLevinson,S.C. pragmatics[M].London:Cambridge univesity press ,2001.nMey, Jacob L., Pragmatics: An Introduction [M]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2001.nStalnaker.R.C. Pragmatic PresuppositionA[M],New York :New York university ress,1978.nMey, Jacob L., Pragmatics: An Introduction [M]. 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