Explanation and semantic theory: the case of presupposition
ESSLLI 2025, Language & Logic track

In this class, we chart the development of explanatory approaches to presupposition projection. We begin by surveying how classical approaches to the projection problem (Karttunen 1973; Heim 1983) essentially stipulate projection behavior lexically. We'll subsequently consider the first wave of explanatory approaches: namely, the classic trivalent approaches, and the more recent local contexts approach of Schlenker (2009, 2010). We'll then survey recent experimental work on conjunction and disjunction, which reveals that the two connectives differ with respect to the effect of linear order on projection, something not predicted by the first wave of explanatory approaches. This is used as a stepping stone to a discussion of the accounts developed by George (2008a, 2008b) and Kalomoiros (2023), which aim for a more satisfactory empirical coverage. Finally, we'll consider explanatory theories of projection in light of more challenging configurations involving conditionals and quantifiers.