TASK 1

1. Denotations vs. Referents TASK 1

2. (A) Reference Referent POTUS Denotation The head of state (government) of the United States of America. Task 1: part A)

3. (B) Referent Reference Capital of Canada Ottawa Denotation The city/town in Canada that is the official seat of Government. Task 1: part B)

4. (C) Reference Referent Women who have walked on the moon Denotation A women who have walked on Task 1: part C)

5. (D) Reference Referent My Linguistics Professor Denotation A professor who teaches me the subject of linguistics Task 1: part D)

6. Metaphors We Live By TASK 2

7. What is a Metaphor? A direct comparison of two otherwise unrelated things based on analogy. It consists of 2 parts: • tenor or target (the thing being defined) • vehicle or source (the thing whose attributes are being borrowed) E.g. Life is a stage, we are merely players. Life is the tenor or the target Stage is the vehicle or source

8. (A) Describes human relationshipsin terms of temperature. Task 2: part A) She gave him an icy stare. He gave her the coldshoulder. He exudes a lot of warmth toward people. They got into a heated argument.

9. (B) Describe part of household items in terms of part of body. Task 2: part B) The eye of a needle. The foot of the bed. The hands of the clock. The arm of a chair.

10. (C) Describes information comprehensionin terms of ways ofhaving food. Task 2: part C) This lecture is easy to digest. He just eats upthe lecturer’s words. Chew onthis thought for a while. Listen to this juicy piece of gossip.

11. (D) Describes argument in terms of war. Task 2: part D) Your claims are indefensible. He shot downall my arguments. His criticisms were right on target. If you use that strategy , he’ll wipe you out. I demolished his argument. He attached every weak point in my argument.

12. (E) Describes anger personalitiesin terms of a dangerous animal. Task 2: part E) He unleased his anger. Her anger was aroused. Your temper is ferocious. She was bristling with rage.

13. Logical Entailment TASK 3

14. Task 3 Entailment? Definition Sometimes the truth of one proposition follows from the truth of another. Example: A: Zechy was assassinated. B: Zechy was killed. Therefore, A entails B.

15. Question 1 Task 3: Qn 1) The statement “Hilary and Dana are married to each other” entails... Married: united in wedlock; wedded: married couples. Gender?

16. Task 3: Qn 1) • Hilary is a woman. • Dana is Hilary’s spouse. • Hilary and Dana are husband and wife. • Dana is not single. • Hilary and Dana live together.

17. Question 2 Task 3: Qn 2) The statement “Romeo kissed Juliet passionately” entails… -Romeo kissed Juliet -Passionately: having, compelled by,or ruled by intense emotion or strong feeling

18. Task 3: Qn 2) • Romeo kissed Juliet. • Juliet kissed Romeo. • Romeo kissed Juliet many times. • Juliet was kissed by Romeo. • Romeo loves Juliet.

19. Question 3 Crime? Victim? Hate? Do they know each other? Task 3: Qn 3) The statement “John shot Tom’s brother dead” entails…

20. Task 3: Qn 3) • John is a murderer. • Tom’s brother was a victim of a violent crime. • Tom’s brother is dead. • John knew Tom’s brother. • John hated Tom.

21. Presupposition TASK 4A

22. Presupposition Presuppose Task 4A : to assume beforehand • Hidden premise relating to the sentence • For example: John regrets that Maria went to the graduation ceremony. {Presupposition: Maria went to the graduation ceremony.}

23. Test for Presuppositions Task 4A Negation Test Negating a sentence does not change itspresupposition.

24. Part A) John regrets that Maria went to the graduation ceremony. John believes that Maria went to the graduation ceremony. Which sentence contains a presupposition relating to the truth of the complement clause?

25. Negation Test Negating a sentence does not change its presupposition. John did notregret that Maria went to the graduation ceremony. John regrets that Maria went to the graduation ceremony. {Maria went to the graduation ceremony.}

26. {Maria went to the graduation ceremony.} John regrets that Maria went to the graduation ceremony. John did not regret that Maria went to the graduation ceremony. Task 4A: Qn a) This presupposition did not change and has passed the Negation Test. An implicit assumption must be non-negotiable for a presupposition to make sense.

27. Possible presupposition {Maria went to the graduation ceremony.} Task 4A: Qn a) Negation Test John believes that Maria went to the graduation ceremony. John did not believe that Maria went to the graduation ceremony. Maria went to the graduation ceremony. Or did she? Presupposition might not hold because of the area of doubt.

28. Answer: Task 4A: Qn a) John regrets that Maria went to the graduation ceremony. John believes that Maria went to the graduation ceremony. {Maria went to the graduation ceremony.}

29. b) {There were signs that the ship was in danger.} Task 4A: Qn b) Negation Test The captain thought that the ship was in danger. The captain did not think that the ship was in danger. Were there really signs of the ship being in danger? Presupposition might not hold because of the area of doubt.

30. b) {There were signs that the ship was in danger.} Task 4A: Qn b) Negation Test The captain realized that the ship was in danger. The captain did not realize that the ship was in danger.

31. Answer: Task 4A: Qn b) The captain thought that the ship was in danger. The captain realized that the ship was in danger. {There were signs that the ship was in danger.}

32. c) {The criminal was sentenced.} Task 4A: Qn c) Negation Test It is significant that the criminal was sentenced. It is not significant that the criminal was sentenced.

33. c) {The criminal was sentenced.} Task 4A: Qn c) Negation Test It is likely that the criminal was sentenced. It is not likely that the criminal was sentenced. Was the criminal sentenced or not? Presupposition might not hold because of the area of doubt.

34. Answer: Task 4A: Qn c) It is significant that the criminal was sentenced. It is likely that the criminal was sentenced. {The criminal was sentenced.}

35. Presupposition TASK 4B

36. Wh-questions • A question formed with an interrogative word (who, what, where, when, why, whose, which, how, whom) and that expects an answer other than “yes”, or “no”. -Richard Nordquist • Thus, not applicable to apply the negation test in identifying presupposition the same way as in Task 4A.

37. Features used • Wh-movements • Presupposition must be mutually assumed by speaker and addressee for the utterance to be considered appropriate in the context. -Levinson, 1983

38. (a) Task 4B: Qn a) • Who killed Sylvia? • wh-movement  “Sylvia (was) killed (by) who?” • Possible presuppositions: Sylvia was murdered. Sylvia is dead. There is a person identified as Sylvia

39. (a) However… Task 4B: Qn a) • Sylvia was murdered. • She might not have been murdered. • Could have been Sylvia herself, in which case it would be suicide. • Thus, it is NOT a presupposition.

40. (a) Task 4B: Qn a) • Sylvia was killed (someone caused her death) • She might not have been murdered, but she could have been killed, as in the question where “John shot Ton’s brother dead.” • Alternatively, Sylvia could have died in an accident. • Thus, it IS a presupposition.

41. (a) Task 4B: Qn a) • Sylvia is dead. • To ask “Who killed Sylvia?”, Sylvia must be dead, even though how it happened is not known. • Thus, it IS a presupposition.

42. (a) Task 4B: Qn a) • There is such a person identified as Sylvia. • Must be assumed in order for such a question to be asked, and both must know this person. • Thus, it IS a presupposition.

43. (b) • Where did you put the cheese? • wh-movement “You put the cheese where?” • Possible presuppositions: You moved the cheese. The cheese has been moved.

44. (b) Task 4B: Qn b) • You moved the cheese. • May not be a definite that the addressee moved the cheeseand the addressee may not agree with it. • Thus, it is NOT a presupposition (?) NO!!

45. (b) Task 4B: Qn b) • You moved the cheese. • It is a potential presupposition • A potential presupposition is a presupposition that is triggered by some part of an utterance taken in isolation, but that may or may not be a presupposition of the whole utterance (Gazdar, 1979). • Thus, it need not be true in any particular context, but is presupposed in the statement.

46. (b) Task 4B: Qn b) • The cheese has been moved. • The cheese is no longer in its original place, meaning it has been moved to a different place, which is a definite for the question to be asked. • Thus, it IS a presupposition. • Also, it is an actual presupposition as it is not cancelled by its context.

47. (c) Task 4B: Qn c) • Why is there sadness in this world? • wh-movement “There is sadness in this world because…” • Possible presuppositions: There is sadness in this world for a reason. There is sadness in this world. Speaker is sad.

48. (c) Task 4B: Qn c) • Speaker is sad. • Might not be appropriate in the context in which the sentence was spoken. • Not necessary that the speaker is sad. He could be making an observation of the world. • Thus, it is NOT a presupposition.

49. (c) Task 4B: Qn c) • There is a reason for sadness in this world. • There is sadness in this world. • Whether or not there is a reason for it, sadness exists in this world. • Thus, “There is sadness in this world” is a presupposition.

50. References • Levinson, S. C. (1983). Pragmatics. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University. • Richard, N. (n.d.). wh-question. Grammar & composition. Retrieved from http://grammar.about.com/od/tz/g/whquestion.htm • Gazdar, G. (1979). Pragmatics: Implicature, presupposition, and logical form. New York: Academic.