More experimental evidence on the triggering problem for presuppositions

Nadine Bade (Universität Potsdam)

I will discuss two experiments on the question which entailments of complex expressions are more likely to become presupposed meaning. Using a novel learning paradigm and visual animations, the experiments test the predictions of different theories for change of state verbs. The findings suggest that initial states are more likely to be presupposed, whereas result states are spontaneously construed as asserted meaning. Results also show that the change of state itself can be more or less at-issue, depending on whether the result or initial state is salient.