Glossary:presupposition

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Presupposition

Pronunciation: /ˌpriːsʌpəˈzɪʃ(ə)n/

Definition

A presupposition is a background belief or assumption relating to an utterance.

Examples

The utterance "Kate stopped writing novels when she left London." has the following presuppositions:

• Kate once wrote novels.
• Kate wrote novels while she was in London.
• Kate left London.
• Kate had been at London.

Related terms

• actual presupposition

• potential presupposition

• presupposition-triggers

Literature

Markus Bieswanger, and Annette Becker. Introduction to English Linguistics. 2nd Auflage. A.Franke Verlag Tübingen und Basel, 2008. Print.