Processing Presuppositions: Theoretical Aspects, Linguistic Features and Sensorimotor Correlates

Auteur Robert REINECKE
Directeur /trice Prof Marion Fossard (Université de Neuchâtel)
Co-directeur(s) /trice(s) Prof Jacques Jayez (ENS de Lyon)
Résumé de la thèse Natural languages have a large number of words and constructions that simultaneously convey two pieces of information. They are known as presupposition triggers. For instance, Paul stopped smoking asserts that Paul does not smoke (the so-called main content) and presupposes that he has been smoking (the so-called presupposition). Although there is a vast descriptive and theoretical literature on presuppositions, the possible differences in the cognitive processing between the two pieces of information remains to a large extent uncharted. Given the importance of presupposition triggers in everyday language, in particular in argumentative discourse (Chilton, 2004) and in language learning (Owens, 2015), it is crucial to determine how our brain deals with presuppositions and to take the results of this investigation into account to shed light on the use of presuppositions in human culture and communication.
Statut à la fin
Délai administratif de soutenance de thèse 2019