Exercise Presupposition or entailment: Difference between revisions

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+- '''A''': Where is the man with the megaphone? '''B''': There is a man with a megaphone.
+- '''A''': Where is the man with the megaphone? '''B''': There is a man with a megaphone.
|| Questions never have entailments, only assertions do. Also: A definite NP presupposes the existence (and uniqueness) of an individual with the described property.
|| Questions never have entailments, only assertions do. Also: A definite NP presupposes the existence (and uniqueness) of an individual with the described property.
-+ '''A''': At least three students solved the problem. '''B''': At least two students solved the problem.
|| The inference disappears if we negate '''A''', i.e., ''It is not true that at least three students solved the problem.'' does not allow us to infer '''B'''.
+- '''A''': The Queen of England attended a cooking workshop. '''B''': There is a queen of England.
+- '''A''': The Queen of England attended a cooking workshop. '''B''': There is a queen of England.
|| Negation test: The '''B''' sentence can also be inferred from the negation of the '''A''' sentence (''The Queen of England did not attend a cooking workshop.''). Also: A definite NP has an existential presupposition.
|| Negation test: The '''B''' sentence can also be inferred from the negation of the '''A''' sentence (''The Queen of England did not attend a cooking workshop.''). Also: A definite NP has an existential presupposition.
-+ My dog Richard was killed in a car accident.
-+ '''A''': My dog Richard was killed in a car accident. '''B''': My dog Richard is dead.
|| The reason why we have an entailment here is the fact that we have can think of a second sentence that indicates the truth of the sentence you just read. <br/> My dog Richard was killed in a car accident (A) (entails) My dog is dead (B) <br/> The consequence of A is B. In order to find out whether you deal with an entailment or a presupposition you may negate the sentence A. If sentence B remains true then you are confronted with a presupposition, if not you most certainly deal with an entailment: <br/> My dog Richard was not killed in a car accident (A) My dog is dead (B)= WRONG!!!!=> Entailment
|| The negation test does not work here: The negation of '''A''' (''My dog Richard was not killed in a car accident.'') does not allow us to infer '''B'''. However, '''B''' is not cancellable: We cannot, without creating a contradiction, continue '''A''' by ''but, in fact, Richard isn't dead.''
 
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Latest revision as of 23:12, 8 September 2013

The following material is an adapted form of material created by student participants of the project e-Learning Resources for Semantics (e-LRS).
Involved participants: Katharina, Caterina, Daniela, Eva

Presupposition or entailment?

Is the B sentence a presupposition or an entailment of the A sentence?

presupposition entailment
A: Where is the man with the megaphone? B: There is a man with a megaphone.
A: At least three students solved the problem. B: At least two students solved the problem.
A: The Queen of England attended a cooking workshop. B: There is a queen of England.
A: My dog Richard was killed in a car accident. B: My dog Richard is dead.


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