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The article discusses the study on the preschool children of ages three to five on presuppositions activated by either regret or too in contexts that either satisfied the presupposition or required accommodation. The results reveal that pre-schoolers development of presupposition comprehension depends on the type of trigger and the contextual availability of the presupposition, satisfaction versus requiring failure repair.

Abstract In this paper, we argue that presuppositions fall within the scope of ostensive-inferential communication, and present the benefits of this proposal. On the one hand, by treating presuppositions as part of what is ostensively communicated by the speaker, we can provide a unified account of so-called 'informative' presuppositions, and presuppositions that are part of the 'common ground'. On the other hand, by treating presuppositions as the output of an inferential process of pragmatic interpretation, we can explain their context-sensitivity as well as the way in which their propositional content is constructed through a process of 'mutual parallel adjustment' with the explicit content of the utterance and its implicatures. Highlights • Presuppositions are part of what is ostensively communicated by a speaker. • Presuppositions are inferentially derived by a hearer. • Informative and non-informative presuppositions are accounted for in a unified framework. • Non-informative presuppositions can also be exploited to convey the main point. • Presuppositions are recovered via a process of 'mutual parallel adjustment'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the neurophysiological correlates of presupposition processing in conditions of satisfaction and accommodation, comparing two types of triggers: definite descriptions and change-of-state verbs. Results showed that, for both types, the accommodation of presuppositions is associated with a biphasic N400-P600 pattern at the processing point. With definite descriptions, we observed a more clear involvement of the N400, while for change-of-state verbs the costs of accommodation were associated with a more pronounced P600. Moreover, when conveyed by change of state predicates, presuppositions seem to elicit also a P200 visible already at the trigger verb. The data nicely fit into the Linking-Updating model and support two main conclusions. First, presupposition accommodation is a sequential process unfolding through a biphasic ERP pattern presumably related to search for antecedent and discourse update. Second, the kind of presupposition trigger seems to affect the cognitive cost of presupposition accommodation at different processing times, with definite description capitalizing more on the earlier search for antecedent and change-of-state verbs capitalizing more on the later updating of the discourse mental model with the presupposed information. Overall, our findings suggest that the brain understands information taken for granted by going through a process whose time course involves several phases, differently modulated based on specific linguistic expressions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper I propose a normative account of pragmatic presupposition as a criticism and enrichment of Gauker''s theory. By an appeal to epistemic contextualism, my aim is to integrate Gauker''s normative account with an explanation of the different ways in which speakers ought to share presuppositions. In particular, I focus my analysis on some stereotypical situations to show that the epistemic goal of a conversation determines the level of justification of a presupposition. Finally, I claim that coherence with the level of justification is a condition for appropriateness of assertions: in order to appropriately assert a sentence p that requires a presupposition q, speakers should recognize how they ought to be able to justify q in a specific communicative context. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]