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Conversational presuppositions: Presupposition as defeasible inference

  • Alessandro Capone

    Alessandro Capone is Associate Professor of Linguistics in the Department of Cognitive Science at the University of Messina. He is chief editor of the Springer series Perspectives in Pragmatics, Philosophy, Psychology and a member of the editorial board of three top international pragmatics journals. His latest monograph for Springer is titled The pragmatics of indirect reports. Dr Capone has published several papers in many important pragmatics and linguistics journals. He has edited numerous volumes for JP, CSLI, and Springer.

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Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 5. Dezember 2017
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Abstract

In this paper, I will try to support the admittedly controversial claim that presuppositions are normally defeasible inferences, taking the lead from Levinson, Stephen C. 1983.Pragmatics. Cambridge: CUP., Simons, Mandy. 2013. On the conversational basis of some presuppositions. In A. Capone, F. Lo Piparo & M. Carapezza (eds), Perspectives on linguistic pragmatics, 329–348. Dordrecht: Springer, Macagno, Fabrizio & Alessandro, Capone. 2016a. Presuppositions as cancellable inferences. In K. Allan, A. Capone, I. Kecskes & Springer Dordrecht (eds.), 45–68; Macagno, Fabrizio & Alessandro. Capone. 2016b. Uncommon ground. Intercultural Pragmatics 13(2). 51–180. In passing, I will justify further some of the claims we made in Macagno, Fabrizio & Alessandro. Capone. 2016a. Presuppositions as cancellable inferences. In K. Allan, A. Capone, I. Kecskes & Springer Dordrecht (eds.), 45–68; Macagno, Fabrizio & Alessandro. Capone. 2016b. Uncommon ground. Intercultural Pragmatics 13(2). 51–180. I will also make a further attempt to explain those notions in a clearer way. Most importantly, I will capitalize on the distinction between potential and actual presuppositions, a distinction which may parallel the one between potential and actual conversational implicatures (see Levinson, Stephen C. 2000.Presumptive meanings. The theory of generalized conversational implicature. Cambridge Mass.: MIT Press; Levinson, Stephen C. 1983.Pragmatics. Cambridge: CUP; Huang, Yan. 1994.The syntax and pragmatics of anaphora. A study with special reference to Chinese. Cambridge: CUP.; Huang, Yan. 2014.Pragmatics. Oxford: OUP.). Levinson, Stephen C. 1983.Pragmatics. Cambridge: CUP. understands this distinction and assumes it is of importance, but, in my opinion, he does not sufficiently capitalize on this, as I want to do in this paper. Also, the terminology he uses is not exactly cast in these terms, but I think it is not unreasonable to borrow the distinction from the theory of generalized conversational implicatures, given that as Atlas, Jay. 2004. Presupposition. In L.R. Horn & G. Ward (eds), The Handbook of Pragmatics. Oxford: Blackwell, and Levinson, Stephen C. 1983. Pragmatics. Cambridge: CUP. say, there are many points of contact between conversational implicatures and conversational presuppositions.

About the author

Alessandro Capone

Alessandro Capone is Associate Professor of Linguistics in the Department of Cognitive Science at the University of Messina. He is chief editor of the Springer series Perspectives in Pragmatics, Philosophy, Psychology and a member of the editorial board of three top international pragmatics journals. His latest monograph for Springer is titled The pragmatics of indirect reports. Dr Capone has published several papers in many important pragmatics and linguistics journals. He has edited numerous volumes for JP, CSLI, and Springer.

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Published Online: 2017-12-5
Published in Print: 2017-12-20

© 2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Heruntergeladen am 11.10.2025 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/ip-2017-0025/html?lang=de
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