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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter provides not only the definition and theories related to

presupposition and short story as the object of the research but also supporting

theories which help the researcher answering the research questions.

2.1. The concept of Pragmatics

Pragmatics is the branch of study that concerned with the study of

meaning as communication by a speaker (or writer) and interpreted by a listener

(or reader). It has consequently, more to do with the analysis of what people mean

by their utterances than what the words or phrases in those utterances might mean

by themselves (Yule; 1996).

a. The Definition of Pragmatics

It is stated by Levinson (1983:9 ) that Pragmatics refers to the study of

relations between language and context that are grammatical, or encoded in the

structure of a language. In other statement, Parker (1986:11) states pragmatics is

the study of how language is used to communicate. Based on Mey (2001:6)

pragmatics is study the use of language in human communication as determined

by the condition of society. It is stated also by Yule (1996:4), that pragmatics is

the study of relationship between linguistic forms and the users of the forms.

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Based on the expert’s explanation, it is constructed by the researcher that

pragmatics is study which humans can analysis the utterance by using context to

find the suitable meaning.

b. The Scope of Pragmatics

According to the previous definition, Yule classifies four areas that

pragmatics is concerned with, namely;

1) Utterance

Utterance is the investigation subject of preposition. Finnegan (1997:

162) said that utterance means sentence which is spoken on particular context.

Pragmatics pays more attention to the relationship of an utterance to its

context.

2) Context

People cannot obtain the complete information from a certain utterance if

the context of communication is not explained. It proves clearly that context is

essential in communication because it gives information to the addressee so

hearer understands the speaker’s utterances and responds to it appropriately.

3) Reference and Inference

Yule (1996: 17) states that inference is an act in which by using linguistic

form a speaker or writer to make a listener or reader able to identify something.

On the other hand, reference is tied to speaker. It aims to identify something,

and the speaker’s belief (e.g. can the listener be expected to know that
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particular something?) in the use of language. As a result, to reach a successful

reference, an inference is needed to infer correctly which entity the speaker

intends to identify by using a particular referring expression.

4) Implicature

Yule (1996: 35) explains that implicature is an additional conveyed

meaning that something must be more than just what the words mean. In

analysing conversational implicature, context or circumstances in which the

conversation takes place are important in interpreting the meaning. The same

utterance in different places, different times or by different people will have

different meaning.

Therefore, implicature is the speaker’s intended meaning which is left

implicit and different from what literally say. It is part of speaker’s meaning

that is not explicitly expressed in utterances. Moreover, conversational

implicature is the implied meaning in a conversation. Thus, in order to derive

the implicature, the context and cooperative principle is needed.

5) Presupposition

Presupposition refers to assumption implicitly made by speakers and

listeners which are necessary for the correct interpretation of utterances. It is

something as speaker’s assumption to be the case prior for making an

utterance. For example, the sentence “Yudi fixed his bike” is assumed for the

truth condition of “Yudi’s bike was broken”. Based on the example, it means

that utterances need contextual knowledge to interpret their meanings.


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Hudson (2000: 321) states that a presupposition is something assumed

(presupposed) to be true in a sentence which asserts other information. It will

generally remain a necessary assumption whether the utterance is placed in the

form of an assertion, denial or question and can be associated with a specific

lexical item or grammatical feature in the utterance.

In the same way, Yule (1996: 6) states that presupposition deals with the

relationship between two proportions, which gives precondition to be true

statement although the statement is negated. Basically, it means that the

presupposition of a statement will remain constant. This property of

presupposition is generally described as constancy under negotiation. The

presupposition itself is shown by the sign (»).

e.g. Yudi’s bike is broken.

One can be seen that the presupposition of the sentence above is Yudi has a

bike. Even we make the sentence negative, the presupposition remains

constant.

e.g. Yudi’s bike isn’t broken

So, the presupposition remains ; (») Yudi has a bike.

In line with some experts’ ideas, the researcher assumed that

presupposition is the speaker’s idea before uttering the utterance. As people

know that the utterance has a meaning, and the meaning itself derived from the

speaker’s mind that reflected about the speaker’s purposes or intentions.

Presupposition happens when the speaker utterances the utterance; the

hearers presuppose it to recognize the meaning of the speaker that can be an


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interpretation or assumption that make sense related the speaker’s idea after

investigating the speaker’s mind with the way of presupposition.

Further, Yule (2000: 27) sees that presupposition has been associated

with the use of a large number of words, phrases, and structures. He states six

types of presupposition; the existential, the factive, the non-factive, the lexical,

the structural and the counter factual.

2.2. Six Types of Presupposition

There are six types according to Yule (1996). Below are the further

explanations of the six types of presupposition:

a. Existential presupposition

The existential presupposition is assumed to be present either in

possessive constructions (such as: your car presupposes (») you have a car) or

in any definite noun phrase as in using expressions like: the King of Sweden,

the cat, etc. in which the speaker presupposes the existence of the entities

named. Another example; The cold war has ended. Presupposes that the

existence of the entities it refers to, in this case the “Cold War”

b. The factive presupposition

The second type of presupposition is called factive presupposition. It

happens since some words are used in the sentences to denote facts, such as

know, realize, regret, glad, odd and aware.

e.g. everybody knows that John is ill (») John is ill.

We regret telling him (») we told him.


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I wasn’t aware that she was married (») She was married.

c. Non-factive presupposition

The third type of presupposition is called non-factive presupposition,

which is assumed not to be true. Verbs like dream, imagine and pretend are

used with the presupposition that what follows is not true.

e.g. Juan dreamed that he was rich (») Juan was not rich.

They imagined that we were in Turkey (») They were not in Turkey.

Moreover, Palmer (1988: 67) uses the word likely to refer to non-factive

presupposition, as in It is likely that John came early, (») John might or might

not come early.

d. Lexical presupposition

There are forms which may be treated as the source of lexical

presupposition, such as manage, stop, and start. In this type, the use of one

form with its asserted meaning is conventionally interpreted with the

presupposition that another (non-asserted) meaning is understood.

When one says that someone managed to do something, the asserted meaning

is that the person succeeded in some way. But when one says that someone did

not manage, the asserted meaning is that the person did not succeed. However,

there is a presupposition (non asserted) that the person tried to do that

something. So, managed is conventionally interpreted as asserting 'succeeded'

and presupposing 'tried'.

e.g. Muja stopped loving Ninin. (») Muja used to love Ninin
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You are late again (») You were late before

Are you still such a bad student? (») You were a bad student.

e. Structural presupposition

In addition to the presuppositions that are associated with the use of

certain words and phrases, there are also structural presuppositions. In this

case, certain sentence structures have been analysed as conventionally and

regularly presupposing that part of the structure is assumed to be true

(Yule,2000: 29). One might say that speakers can use such structures to treat

information as presupposed (assumed to be true) and hence to be accepted as

true by the listeners. For instance, the wh- forms (i.e. when, where, etc.) can be

used in this type, as in When did John leave? It presupposes that John left.

e.g. When did I receive my double degree? (») I received double

degree.

Where did you bought that book? (») You bought that book.

f. Counter-factual presupposition

The last type is called a counter-factual presupposition, in which what is

presupposed is not only true, but is the opposite of what is true, or contrary to

facts. For example, the sentence: If you were his friend you would have

helped him presupposes that you are not his friend. A conditional structure of

this sentence presupposes that the information in the if-clause is not true of the

time of utterance.

e.g. If you were my daughter, I would not allow you to do this.

(») you are not my daughter.


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They wish they could go vacation now.

(») they do not go vacation now.

If I were you, I would leave him.

(») I am not you.

2.3. Presupposition Triggers

Yule (1996: 27) calls these triggers as ‘indicators of potential

presupposition’, which can be trusted by the speakers toward the context.

That is why there are presupposition triggers consisting of words, phrases and

structures.

The presupposition triggers according to Karttunen (1973) in Levinson

(1983) are definite descriptions, factive verbs, implicative verbs, iterratives,

change of state verbs, verbs like judging, temporal clause, cleft sentence,

implicit clefts with stressed constituents, comparisons and contrasts, non-

restrictive relative clause, counterfactual conditionals questions.

According to Karttunen (1973) in Levinson (1983) there are 13 kinds of

such triggers:

a. Definite descriptions used proper names and possessives construction.

b. Factive verbs is presupposing truth of the proportional complement. Verbs

like regret, aware, realize, odd, know, be sorry that, be proud that, be

indifferent that, be glad that, and be sad that are included to this type.

c. Implicative verbs: manage, forget, happen, and avoid are the examples of

implicative verbs.
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d. Change of state verbs such as stop, begin, continue, start, finish, carry on,

cease, take, leave, enter, come, go, arrive, etc.

e. Expression of repetition. Words like again, anymore, return, another time,

to come back, restore, repeat.

f. Verb of judging

This kind of implication is arguably, not really presuppositional at all.

Agatha accused of Ian plagiarism.

g. Temporal clause, such as before, while, since, after, during, whenever, as

are the triggers of this temporal clause

h. Cleft sentence is argued to presuppose that something ‘y-ed’ (as in it was x

that y-ed). It was Henry that kissed Rosie. Presupposes that someone

kissed Rosie.

i. Implicit clefts with stressed constituents, These particular presuppositions

that seem to arise from two cleft sentence seem also to be triggered simply

by heavy stress on a constituent.

j. Comparisons and contrasts may be marked by stress, by particle like too,

back, in return, or by comparative constructions;

k. Non-restrictive relative clause, as in an example of -The Proto Harrappans

flourished 2800-2650 B.C. were great temple builders. presupposes that

The Proto-Harrappans flourished 2800-2650 B.C;

l. Counterfactual conditionals have been claimed to presuppose falsity of the

antecedent. If Hannibal had only had twelve more elephants, the Romans
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languages would this day exist presupposes that Hannibal didn’t have

twelve more elephants;

m. The last is Questions. WH-questions introduce the presuppositions

obtained by replacing the WH-word by the appropriate existentially

quantified variable.

2.4. Short Story

Short story, brief fictional prose narrative that is shorter than a novel and

that usually deals with only a few characters. The short story is usually concerned

with a few significant scenes.

a. Definition of Short Story

According to Poe (1846), “A short story should be read in one sitting,

anywhere from a half hour to two hours. In contemporary fiction, a short story can

range from 1,000 to 20,000 words”. It means that short story is a story that usually

can be read in short time. In other word, the reader does not need much time to

comprehend what the short story tells about. Meanwhile, Roberts (1983) states “A

short story is usually about one or two characters undergoing some sort of

difficulty or problem”. It means short stories usually focus on only one or two

figures who have to face conflict in a story.

On the other hand, Tarigan (in Junaedi, 2006) also states another

classification of short story which is based on the quality of work. Tarigan states

that short story is divided into two types: “Cerpen sastra” literary short story
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which contains the norms demanded by literary art and “Cerpen hiburan”

entertaining short story which contains the material of the short story categorized

as an entertainment.

Moreover, Abrams (1993) decides a short story is a brief work of prose

fiction, and most of the terms for analysing the component elements, the types,

and the narrative techniques of the novel are applicable to the short story as well.

It means short story is a brief fiction that has similarities with novel in analysing

the component elements, the types, and the narrative techniques.

Considering the statements above, it can be concluded that short story is

a brief work of prose fiction from 1,000 to 20,000 words that usually can be read

in short time. Short story is classified into two major classification, short story

based on the number of words (short-short story and long short story) and short

story based on the quality of work (literary and entertaining short story).

b. Characteristics of Short Story

According to Tarrigan (1985:178). The researcher can conclude that

characteristic of short story as follows:

1) The characteristic of Short Story is brevity, unity, and intensity.

2) The main element of Short Story is scene, character, and action.

3) Language that is used in short story must be incisive, suggestive, and alert.

4) Short Story must consist of a writer interpretation about his concept, about

life, either direct or indirect.

5) Short Story must cause one effect reader opinion.


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6) Short Story must cause a feeling in reading that train of story implicates

feeling first than opinion.

7) Short Story consist details and incident, which can cause question in

reader opinion.

8) Short tory consists of an incident that leads to understand the train Story.

c. Elements of Short Story

Intrinsic elements of short story are important part of a short story since

these elements will bring the reader into the story. The commonly known

elements of short story are as follows:

1) Plot

Klaler (1998:15) suggests that plot is the logical interaction of the various

thematic elements of a text which leads to a change of the original situation as

presented at the outset of the narrative. Exposition -compilation - climax or

turning point- resolution Further, as explained by Klaler (1998:15), the exposition

or presentation of the initial situation is disturbed by a compilation or conflict

which produces suspense and eventually leads to a climax, crisis, or turning point.

The climax is followed by a resolution of a compilation.

2) Character

Klaler (1998:17) defines that typed character in literature is

dominated by one specific trait and is referred to as a flat character, and

term round character usually denotes a person with more complex and
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differentiated features. in short story, character that commonly emergences

is flat character since short story only presents the critical time of the chief

character.

3) Characterization

Nurgiyantoro (2002: 194) gives two methods in describing the

characterization in literary work; those are expository method and dramatic

method. Expository method is the way of author in describing the characters

directly. The author gives description, explanation and disentanglement directly

so that the readers will easily comprehend the characterization.

Dramatic method is the way of author in describing the characters

indirectly. In this method, the author does not describe the characters explicitly.

The author lets the characters to show themselves through the various activities,

both of dialogues and actions. This method makes the readers have to read more

careful and serious in comprehending the character.

4) Point of view

Klaler (1998) states, that “narrative perspective or point of view

characterizes the ways in which a text presents persons, events, and settings. The

subtleties of narrative perspective developed parallel to the emergence of the

novel and can be reduced to three basic positions: The action of a text is either

mediated through an exterior unspecified narrator (omniscient point of view)


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though a person involved in the action (first person narration), or presented

without additional commentary (figural narrative situation)”.

5) Setting

In action of interpretation, setting can be distinguished into setting of

place, time and culture (Nurgiyantoro, 2000: 102). The setting of place physically

is a place where events in a story occurred. Presentation of this setting of place

supported also by describing of things located in narration because it is a unity of

the narration of place. The setting of time describes about time of every event that

occurred in the story including present, past or even uncertain times. Whereas the

setting of culture describes of society conditions, social group and their attitude,

custom, life style and language used in events of the story.

d. The Types of Genre in Short Story

According to Permana in Purnama (2014), the seven types of genre in

fiction are are Sci-fi, Horor, Fantasi, Romansa, Komedi, Misteri, and Petualangan.

The first is Sci-fi (Science Fiction). It is a genre which has concept of technology

and science that is often nost real. The second is horror. It is a genre that the story

and plot are built to give eeriness to the readers. Horror can be about ghosts and

can be about serial killer. The third is fantasy. It is a genre which has magic and

supernatural elements, the story is from manifestation of high-level creativity that

demands free imagination, but also still logic and rational.

The fourth is romance. It is a genre with the story about daily life or slice

of life. Romance has the characteristic where the dictions written are so poetic and
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romantic so that can create a heart-warming situation that makes the readers can

enjoy its beauty. The fifth is comedy. It is a genre that the story more emphasizes

on comedy and parody elements. The next is mystery. It is different from horror.

Mystery has to make the readers curious along the story because there are many

things hidden and will be revealed one by one. The last is adventure. It is a genre

about an adventure. An adventure is not always wandering to far places, it also

can be an event that can change something.

2.5. Tahmima Anam’s Garments Short Story

“Garments” short story is the first story of Tahmima Anam. It apparently

is being criticised on Facebook. “Garments” delves into the lives of those who

work in garments environment. The readers are brought to understand the story

through three women who share an impotent husband, especially from the point of

view of Jesmin, an impoverished young woman who seeks a better way of life but

pays a high price.

2.6. Previous Study

To complete this research, there are some previous studies that the

researcher reviewed concerning presupposition.

a. First research Presupposition in “An analysis of Presupposition found in the

Guardian News: Pragmatical Approach (2020)” by Crisnova and Hisni. They

investigated types of presupposition and mostly used type of presupposition.

Their data source is utterance in Guardian News. They found that existential
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presupposition is the most used type based on the findings analysed using

Yule’s theory.

b. The second is a research by Emad Khalili entitled “ An analysis of

Presupposition used in Heart of Darkness” (2020). In his research, he is

concerned about the discussion presupposition in pragmatics studies in which

he utilized the conversation of characters in the novel. He analysed the data

source using Yule’s theory. He found 20 structural presupposition as the most

type used, and others are 18 Factive, 16 counter factual, 13 existential , 11

Lexical and 4 non-factive.

c. “Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus” Movie (2019) by Anna Riana is the third

research related to this thesis. Her main data is the conversation in the movie.

After conducting the research , she revealed that there are nine

presuppositions found in the movie. They are two existential presuppositions

or 22, 2 %, one lexical presuppositions or 11, 1%, two structural

presuppositions or 22, 2 %, three factive presuppositions or 33, 4 %, and one

counterfactual presupposition or 11, 1 %.

d. The third is the research entitled “The Use of Presuppositions in the Short

Story of Zilkê Şixatê (Matchstick) (2019)” by Sulaiman and Omar. Their

source data were written in Northern Kurmanji dialect (hence, NK) by Isma’il

Hajani. They revealed that the most dominant type of presupposition used in

their data is the existential presupposition, manifesting definite descriptions

of facts about real life, while the structural presuppositions have the lowest

percentage. The fact that much of the story text is written to definitely
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describe the main theme, the characters and the events as they are. They also

explained that their study is particularly important because no other such

studies have been conducted on the use of presuppositions in any literary

work in NK. Therefore, this study occupies a crucial place in the research

literature into pragmatic aspects of NK.

e. The last, the research done by Ananda, Wihadi, and Suryana entitled

“Presupposition Analysis In Some Selected Consumer Advertisement

Slogans Of The Jakarta Post (2016). Their research objectives are finding the

types of presupposition and describing the functions of presupposition in

advertisement found in consumer advertisement slogans of the Jakarta post

newspaper. The result of this research showed that they found 20

presuppositions most of which are existential presupposition. Regarding the

function of presupposition in advertisement, implicit competition is the

dominant one. They also added that not all type of presupposition and

function of presupposition in advertisement are found, it is influenced by

various types and functions in advertisement causing different assumption

and presupposition.

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