Description
Book SynopsisRussell and Strawson sparked a well known debate on the subject of Linguistic Presupposition inspiring many linguists and philosophers to follow suit, including Frege, whose work initiated the modern study in this area. Beaver begins with the most comprehensive overview and critical discussion of this burgeoning field published to date. He then goes on to motivate and develop his own account based on a Dynamic Semantics. This account is a recent line of theoretical work in which the Tarskian emphasis on truth conditions is questioned. The central plank of the theory of meaning is a formal account of the change in information effected by use of language on hearers or readers. The proposal thus consolidates ideas of Stalnaker, Karttunen and Heim, all of whom had suggested that such an account was needed. At the same time it provides a new impulse and motivation to Dynamic Semantics itself.
Table of ContentsPart I. Theories of Presupposition: 1. Introduction; 2. Presuppositions and how to spot them; 3. Multivalence and partiality; 4. Cancellation and filtering; 5. Dynamic semantics; 6. Accommodation; Part II. A Dynamic Account: 7. Two birds and one stone; 8. A bit like English; 9. Presupposition and modality in ABLE; 10. Let's get real!; 11. Connections and directions; 12. Conclusions.
