2.1 Beliefs and Attitudes
Beliefs and attitudes can affect language use in two directions, both from the viewpoint of speakers and also from the viewpoint of hearers. On part of speakers, personal beliefs and attitudes often determine the choice of words and phrases. That is, speakers sometimes convey their beliefs and attitudes through particular expressions they intentionally use in utterances. Such a belief or attitude implied by the use of a particular word or phrase in a sentence is called a presupposition.
Presuppositions are prevalent in everyday conversation; and they are associated with various categories of words and phrases. Compare the sentence pairs below. In each of these examples, the first sentence of the pair contains a word or a phrase which involves a presupposition conveying the speaker’s belief or attitude. This is in contrast to the second sentence where the presupposition is not present.
(13) a. The baby has stopped crying at ten.
b. The baby did not cry at ten.
(14) a. The baby is crying again.
b. The baby is crying.
(15) a. I realize that Pam is very busy.
b. I guess that Pam is very busy.