ACQUISITION OF PRESUPPOSITIONS AND RESEARCH ON PRESUPPOSITIONS
Acquisition vs. Learning: Are They Different?
The main difference between learning and acquisition is that learning is a more conscious and deliberate process than acquisition, which is more subconscious in nature. We use both the terms learning and acquisition frequently when we are talking about learning a language. Here, acquisition involves the non-conscious assimilation of a language, mainly through first-hand exposure. On the other hand, learning involves studying it through formal instruction and conscious comprehension.
Similarities Between Learning and Acquisition
Learning and acquisition are two terms associated with language learning.
Both learning and acquisition facilitate the learner to become fluent in a language.
Both learning and acquisition involve the four skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking.
Difference Between Learning and Acquisition
Definition: The acquisition is the non-conscious assimilation of a language mainly through first-hand exposure, while learning involves acquiring a language through formal instruction and conscious comprehension.
Communication: Acquisition of a language demands natural and meaningful communication in the language, but learning of a language involves more explanation of grammar rules and less natural communication.
Nature: Learning is a relatively deliberately done conscious process, while acquisition is subconscious or non-conscious.
Conclusion: The main difference between learning and acquisition is that learning is a more conscious and deliberate process while acquiring is more subconscious in nature. However, learning and acquisition are both equally significant for anyone who wishes to achieve fluency in a new language.
Presupposition and Presupposition Trigger
We discuss presupposition, the phenomenon whereby speakers mark linguistically information as being taken for granted, rather than being part of the main propositional content of a speech act. Expressions and constructions carrying presuppositions are called
“presupposition triggers”, forming a large class including definites and factive verbs. In English grammar, according to Stephen Holliday, a verb is considered definite if it refers to a specific action or event that can be identified by the verb. Factive mental verbs, such as know, remember, understand, and forget, denote a true event, which is described in the complement clause. On the
contrary, non-factive mental verbs, such as promise, agree, and propose, denote an obligation or an intention. Factive verbs allow argument extraction, but not adjunct extraction.
Existensial Presupposition
The existential presupposition is assumed to be either present in constructional possessive.
For example: “Her iron” (Ge, 2011)
It presupposes (») she has a iron) or for any definite noun phrase, as in the use of phrases such as: the King of Sweden, the cat, etc., the speaker presupposes the presence of the named entities. It means this type of presupposition by the existential the noun itself.
The Factive Presupposition
Factive presupposition since some words are used in the sentences to denote facts, such as, regret, glad, odd, know, realize and aware.
For example: “Everybody knows that Clara was beautiful” (Yule, 2010).
It presupposes that John is beautiful. It means this type is the verb that had indicate a fact or real.
The Non-Factive Presupposition
Non-factive presupposition is the contrast of factive presupposition. It is assumed not to be true. Verbs like dream, imagine and pretend are used with the presupposition that what follows is not true.
For example: “Clara dreamed that she was rich” (Yule, 2010)
It presupposes that Clara was not rich. It means this type is the verb that had indicate not real or true.
The Lexical Presupposition
The lexical presupposition is the use of form with its asserted meaning is conventionally interpreted with the presupposition that another meaning is understood.
For example: “Someone managed to do something” (Ge, 2011)
The asserted meaning is that the person succeeds in some way. So, when people claim that someone did not perform, the implication is the person did not succeed. Nevertheless, there was an assumption (not asserted) that the individual was attempting to do anything like that.
Thus, conventionally perceived as declaring succeed and presupposing tried (Yule, 2010). It means this type had indicated something that stop or begin.
The Structural Presupposition
The structural presupposition is conceptual assumptions. In this case, these sentence structures have been examined as conventionally and regularly assuming that part of the structure is assumed to be true. One would suggest that speakers may use these systems to view knowledge as presumed (assumed to be true) and therefore to be recognized as valid by the listeners.
For example: “When did Clara go?” (Ge, 2011)
It presupposes that Clara go. The presupposition of a sentence is the set of conditions that had to be satisfied in order for the intended. It means this type has the structure of the sentence itself.
The Counter-Factual Presupposition
Counter-factual presupposition is presupposed is not only true, but was the opposite of what is true, or contrary to facts.
For example: “If you were a friend of his, you should have supported him” (Ge, 2011)
It presupposes that you are not his friend. The conditional form of this sentence presupposes that the knowledge in the if-clause is not true at the time of the speech. It 13 means this type had the word that indicated the sentence has a contrast with the condition of the speaker.
Acquisition of Presupposition
This section will be discussed through reviewing a paper journal to see how presupposition is acquired. To discuss this chapter, a research paper related to the acquisition of presupposition triggers on children is chosen. This study was conducted by Sumaira Idrees (2020). This research investigates the acquisition of presupposition trigger again in children.
The aim is to identify at which age children acquire presuppositions, with RQ as below:
1. When is the right age they establish correct usage of presuppositions?
2. Is the usage a mere imitation or can we identify clear understanding through their usage?
3. What is the acquisitional challenge they face?
Here are the steps the researcher took in conducting the research:
1. Introducing the phenomenon of presupposition and assertion in English language.
2. Highlighting the research questions addressed through this research.
3. Presenting the lexical presupposition triggers in the form of a table and establish difference between assertion and presupposition.
4. Followed by literature review and elaborating my methodology, the researcher presented the data in the form of a table and specific instances are discussed for analysis.
5. At last, the discussion concludes by answering the targeted research questions.
The methodology of this research involved two phases. First to organize the findings in the firm of a table and next to analyze the findings. In the first phase, presupposition triggers were searched in Adam’s speech. The researcher’s focus is to analyze the acquisition of presupposition trigger again. The researcher found sample number of utterances using again by Adam. Once established that again can be a plausible selection for analysis and discussion that the researcher highlighted and organized the data in a table. The researcher focused more to
Adam, as he spoke standard American English and was quite a talkative and responsive child.
Besides, his speech provides ample data for analysis as compared to Eve and Sara.
Following the criteria for organization the data was analyzed considering context of language use. The researcher utilized data in chunks at various ages when Adam used again.
Since age matters in language acquisition, the researcher’s purpose is to develop a strategic analysis where the researcher can establish reasonably that children start acquiring presupposition triggers at a certain age. Verifying additionally, at which age the acquisition is mere imitation and routine or understanding of presupposition phenomenon.
Acquisition of Presupposition – Conclusion from the Study
We can conclude that conversations carry meaning. These meanings are termed as propositions. Assertion and presupposition are different kinds of propositions. Children acquire language progressively and they take time in matching their mental picture with that of an adult. Acquisition of complex phenomenon presupposition is time taking. Children acquire its sensible usage by the age of five and can further develop usage while they grow up. This research meets the objective in finding that acquiring presuppositional triggers is age constraint. Indeed, more research is needed on various children with different personality profiles and it is mandatory to extend the research on the acquisition of other presupposition triggers too. That would firmly establish that how different children acquire various presupposition triggers and utilize them correctly in their respective speech. The researcher suggested another research can be carried out utilizing Sara and Eve’s data comparing it to Adam’s. Analyzing and comparing other presupposition triggers will also serve the purpose of establishing the frequency, fluency and age of acquisition among various personality profiles.
Research of Presupposition
1. Research of presupposition is a kind of research in which the researchers focus on or analyze the phenomena of presupposition in language use.
2. In researching the presupposition phenomena, the researchers analyze the occurrence or use of presupposition in language use, such as what types of presupposition, what function of presupposition, the context of it, and so on.
3. All language use can be analyzed in order to find the phenomena of presupposition, for example someone’s speech, fictional characters’ speech, written text, and so on.
Just before, we have reviewed a journal article of presupposition too, in which the researcher analyzed the presupposition trigger on children’s speech related to the acquisition of presupposition. Presupposition phenomena can also be analyzed in teacher-and-student interaction, texts on magazine and class textbook, advertisement, films, short story, etc.
Study or research on presupposition is very broad and it varies. Therefore, to make easier and to narrow the discussion, this discussion will be delivered through an example of journal
article by Merliyani Putri Anggraini & Ratih Novita Sari (2023). This study analyzed the phenomena or occurrence of presuppositions during English class, knowing that we are all in the department of English education. This study focused on teacher’s utterance with RQ as below:
1. What types of presuppositions are utilized in the teacher’s utterances in teaching and learning activities?
2. What are the implied meanings of teachers’ utterances in teaching and learning activities?
Research Methodology
The authors adopted a descriptive qualitative design to address the study questions. The information was collected throughout the teaching and learning process in one general English class at one of the universities in Indonesia. The first-year university students who took the subject were selected to participate in this current research. They were categorized as English beginners, as indicated by their English proficiency. The class consisted of one English teacher and 35 students. The students were from the English department of the university.
Two sessions of the English class were videotaped by the authors. Each meeting lasts around two and a half hours. In the first meeting, the English teacher taught a recount text material, and a narrative text was the material in the second meeting. While collecting data, the authors were non-participant observers; thus, they did not participate in the teaching-learning activity. Yule’s (1996) categories were used to examine the data. Existential Presupposition, Factive Presupposition, Non-Factive Presupposition, Lexical Presupposition, Structural Presupposition, and Counter Factual Presupposition are the six categories of presupposition. The authors devised the following data analysis technique during data collection: identifying presupposition types and evaluating the presupposition interpretation.
Findings & Discussions
Based on the data analysis, the teaching-learning process encompasses all six categories
of Yule’s (1996) presuppositions. Existential Presupposition, Factive Presupposition, Non- Factive Presupposition, Lexical Presupposition, Structural Presupposition, and Counter-Factual Presupposition are the six forms of it. The table presents the total number of presuppositions employed by the English teacher during the activity of teaching and learning.
According to the Table 1, all forms of presuppositions may be found in teachers’
utterances. Structural Presupposition is the most utilized form of presupposition, accounting for 126 of the 364 datasets. It can also be noted that Structural Presupposition accounts for 34.62%
of the presuppositions employed by the English teacher. It indicates that Structural Presupposition is the most common sort of presupposition employed by English teacher while delivering material. The Lexical Presupposition and Existential Preposition are the second most frequent types of presuppositions. They have a comparable number in 70 data out of 364 data, demonstrating that they both contribute 19.23% to the data results.
The Factive Presupposition is the third type of presupposition used by the English teacher. This presupposition contains 56 data points out of 364 overall, accounting for 15.38% of the data results. Non-Factive Presupposition is the fourth form of presupposition, accounting for 35 of the 364 data points. It can also be noted that Non-Factive Presupposition accounts for 9.62% of the presuppositions employed by the English teacher.
The Counter Factual Presupposition is the least common sort of presupposition seen in teacher’s utterances. It only contains 7 data points out of 364 total. It can also be noted that Counter Factual Presupposition accounts for just 1.92% of the presuppositions employed by the English teacher. It suggests that the English teacher performs the smallest number of Counter Factual Presupposition when delivering the material.
Implied Meanings
Structured presuppositions: It argues that speakers may utilize such structures to regard information as presupposed (presumed to be factual) and hence have listeners accept it as accurate. A sentence’s pragmatic presupposition is the collection of requirements that must be met for the intentional utterance to be suitable in the context or fortuitous. The phenomenon occurred when the teacher challenged the students to differentiate between recount and narrative texts. It can be assumed that recount text and narrative text vary. The students were asked to respond and differentiate between the two passages.
Existential presuppositions: The teacher’s second most used kind is an existential presupposition. This is known as Existential Presupposition because it assumes the presence of the objects stated by the speaker. In this case, the teacher (the lecturer) addressed the class with specific name in the class interaction, “What about class 2B?” When the observation was conducted, the teacher (lecturer) was teaching at class 2B.
Lexical presuppositions: Lexical Presupposition is also the second most common form in teacher talk. The usage of one form with its declared meaning is generally interpreted in this type with the presupposition that another (non-asserted) meaning is recognized. Lexical Presupposition is defined as the idea that the speaker can act as though another meaning
(word) will be comprehended by using one term. When the teacher said, “Mousedeer looks like a deer, but it is smaller” is similar to describing a mousedeer’s appearance. While, when the teacher said, “Mousedeer is very smart” can be presupposed that the teacher wanted to tell the students about the mousedeer’s quality.
Factive presuppositions: The second type of presupposition is the third most common form in a teacher talk. It is known as Factive Presupposition because some phrases in the utterances are employed to express facts, such as know, realize, regret, glad, unusual, and aware. In this part, the teacher said that she forgot to copy the students the text of the ‘Crocodile and Mousedeer’ story. It made her feel sorry. Through this information, the teacher indirectly told them that she did not bring them a copy of the text. In addition, she thought that they could write down the text that she would write on the whiteboard.
Non-factive presuppositions: The third type of presupposition is the fourth most common form in a teacher talk. It is known as Non-Factive Presupposition, and it is presumed to be false. Verbs such as dream, imagine, and pretend are employed with the presupposition that what follows is false. During the class, the teacher asked whether the students had been to Bali or not, and they said no. Therefore, the teacher gave an example by asking them to imagine if they went to Bali, and they could compose their own recount text about it.
Counter Factual Presupposition: The least common type of presupposition disclosed in teacher’s utterances is Counterfactual Presupposition. Counter Factual Presupposition arises when the presupposition of what is presupposed is false and the inverse of what is factual or contradictory to facts. For example, specific conditional structures, known as counter-factual conditionals, assume that the information in the if-clauses is false at the moment of utterance.
In this situation, the teacher explained the time signals used in the recount text to the students.
Firstly, she told the students how to use the time signal ‘last’ in the sentence. Then, she taught them how to use another time signal, ‘ago’. The teacher uttered this underlined utterance to explain the structure of ‘ago’ if the students wanted to use it. She prevented them from making the wrong structure and gave them how to differentiate the use of ‘last’ and ‘ago’.
