The Presuppositional Mechanism and Truth Conditions of Adversative Constructions in Chinese

Abstract

In Modern Chinese adversative constructions, the propositions p (preceding clause) and q (following clause) often do not display a direct opposition at the level of surface semantics. The establishment of adversative meaning relies on a direct conflict between a presupposed element generated by p and the surface semantics of q. When p contains multiple presuppositions, these presupposed elements exhibit a hierarchical, incremental structure and jointly constitute, within the common ground, the cognitive preconditions for the validity of the adversative relation. An adversative marker can obtain truth value only when a certain presupposed element is semantically closest to q and stands in opposition to it. The hierarchy of presuppositions, the common ground, and the selection mechanism of the key presupposed element together form the truth-conditional model for adversative markers, thereby explaining the underlying reason why the adversative logic of constructions lacking direct surface-semantic opposition can nonetheless be established.