3. Pragmatics
LSLA 414
Dr. Hebatullah Orabi
• Micro-pragmatics is the study of
language use in smaller contexts.
• Traditionally the context is
understood as
• comprising the sentence and its
immediate surroundings.
• Phenomena such as reference,
deixis, anaphora and presupposition
are the topics in this field.
E.g.:
- I was waiting for the bus, but he just
drove by without stopping.
- I saw you with him yesterday.
• Macro-pragmatics concerns with
the users interaction in various
ways, and in a number of settings:
-Cooperative principles
-Conversation implicature
-Speech acts
-Indirect language
-Politeness principles
-Cross-cultural communication
Micro-Pragmatics vs. Macro-Pragmatics
5. Pragmatics
LSLA 414
Dr. Hebatullah Orabi
Definition of Presupposition
Presuppositions are implications that are often
felt to be in the background — to be assumed by
the speaker to be already known to the
addressee.
6. Pragmatics
LSLA 414
Dr. Hebatullah Orabi
Originally presupposition is predominantly
treated as an issue of the philosophy of logic or
truth-based logic semantics, which means a
proposition whose truth is taken for granted.
Reference: Ge, Liping (2011). Pragmatic Functions of Presupposition in Advertising
English. Asian Culture and History
7. Pragmatics
LSLA 414
Dr. Hebatullah Orabi
In the early 1970s, the pragmatic study of
presupposition emerged and have been urged. Many
studies are made, which lead to varieties of
definitions on pragmatic presupposition.
They are treated as:
“the set of conditions that have to be satisfied in order for the
intended speech act to be appropriate in the circumstance, or
to be felicitous”, “the speakers’ shared background
information”, and “inferences about what is assumed to be
true in the utterance rather than directly asserted to be true”
(Peccei: 2000-19)
Reference: Ge, Liping (2011). Pragmatic Functions of Presupposition in Advertising
English. Asian Culture and History
8. Pragmatics
LSLA 414
Dr. Hebatullah Orabi
Example: A speaker of any of the sentences
below would be presupposing that there is a
king of France.
a. The king of France is bald.
b. The king of France is not bald.
c. Is the king of France bald?
d. The king of France might be bald/Possibly the
king of France is bald.
e. If the king of France is bald, he should wear a
hat in the winter.
9. Pragmatics
LSLA 414
Dr. Hebatullah Orabi
An utterance of
Ahlam loves her children
carries the presupposition that this particular
Ahlam has children.
10. Pragmatics
LSLA 414
Dr. Hebatullah Orabi
Why does it matter that you know of
Presupposition ?
A presupposition is a background belief, that is
not explicitly stated, yet provides meaning to
what a person says.
In most situations, people accept
presuppositions without conscious awareness.
Presuppositions sort of “slip in”, yet have a
surprisingly strong effect on what we believe.
Reference: https://organicgrowth.biz/inbound-marketing/how-to-sell-more-easily-
and-naturally-with-presuppositions/
11. Pragmatics
LSLA 414
Dr. Hebatullah Orabi
Why does it matter that you know of them?
• We (metaphorically speaking) swim in an
ocean of advertising messages (and political
rhetoric) containing presuppositions.
• It helps you better sell stuff to others.
Reference: https://organicgrowth.biz/inbound-marketing/how-to-sell-more-easily-
and-naturally-with-presuppositions/
12. Pragmatics
LSLA 414
Dr. Hebatullah Orabi
The Most Important Part of a Presupposition is
that you do not think about them. They “slip in”
without conscious awareness.
Reference: https://organicgrowth.biz/inbound-marketing/how-to-sell-more-easily-
and-naturally-with-presuppositions/
14. Pragmatics
LSLA 414
Dr. Hebatullah Orabi
Make America Great Again
The phrase contains three presuppositions:
1. American used to be great
2. Is great no more
3. Can be great again
15. Pragmatics
LSLA 414
Dr. Hebatullah Orabi
Presupposition deals with implicit
meanings conveyed by the speaker
through the use of particular words.
16. Pragmatics
LSLA 414
Dr. Hebatullah Orabi
Presupposition Triggers
There are six types of presupposition or
presupposition triggers (Yule, 1996). Those are:
1. existential,
2. factive,
3. lexical,
4. structural,
5. non-factive, and
6. counter-factual.
17. Pragmatics
LSLA 414
Dr. Hebatullah Orabi
Existential presupposition
Existential presupposition is the assumption of
the existence of the entities named by the
speaker. It is signed by the use of noun phrases
and possessive construction.
e.g. The teacher taught Math >> there is a teacher
e.g. Andy is a professor >> there is a professor/ Andy is an old
man
18. Pragmatics
LSLA 414
Dr. Hebatullah Orabi
Factive presupposition
Factive presupposition is the assumption that
something is true due to the presence of some
as "know“, "realize“, “be glad”, “be sorry”,
“regret”, “aware”, “odd” etc.
e.g. We regret telling him >> we told him
e.g. I wasn’t aware that she was married >> she was married
e.g. It isn’t odd that he left early >> he left early
e.g. I’m glad it’s over >> it’s over
19. Pragmatics
LSLA 414
Dr. Hebatullah Orabi
Lexical Presupposition
Lexical Presupposition refers to using one word,
the speaker can act as if another meaning will be
understood. In this case, the use of word “stop”,
“start”, “again” presuppose another (unstated)
concept.
e.g. He stopped smoking >> he used to smoke
e.g. You’re late again >> you were late before
20. Pragmatics
LSLA 414
Dr. Hebatullah Orabi
Structural presupposition
Structural presupposition refers to the
assumption associated with the use of certain
structures. The listener perceives that the
information presented is necessarily true rather
than just the presupposition of the person
asking the question.
e.g. When did he leave? >> he left
e.g. Where did you buy the bike? >> you bought the bike
21. Pragmatics
LSLA 414
Dr. Hebatullah Orabi
Non-factive presupposition
Non-factive presupposition is an assumption
referred to something that is not true.
e.g. I dreamed that I was rich >> I was not rich
e.g. We imagined we were in Hawaii >> we were not in Hawaii
22. Pragmatics
LSLA 414
Dr. Hebatullah Orabi
Counter factual presupposition
Counter factual presupposition is the
assumption that what is presupposed is not
only
untrue, but is the opposite of what is true, or
contrary to facts.
e.g. If you were my friend, you would have helped me >> You
are not my friend
e.g. If I were not short, I would have became a stewardess >> I
am short
