Qualitative Study on Semantic Entailment, Implicature and Pre-Supposition among Speakers of English: A Review of Donald Davison's Truth-Conditional Semantics Theory

Authors

  • SAMUEL, Chukwuemeke Eboh Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.64348/zije.2026627

Keywords:

Semantic Entailment, Implicature, Pre-Supposition, English Speakers

Abstract

This paper takes a cursory look at what constitutes entailment in semantics. It discusses the sources of inclusion and attempts to distinguish between entailment and other similar terms, such as implicature and pre-supposition, with which it is sometimes confused. The constant confusion between the implicature, pre-supposition and entailment among speakers of English has prompted the researcher into investigating the three items using the Donald Davison's truth-conditional semantics theory. It was found that differences exist between them. Finally, the importance of entailment to the English speaker was not left out.

References

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Davidson, D. (1967). Truth and meaning. Synthese, 17(3), 304–323. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00485035 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00485035

Chierchia, G., & McConnell-Ginet, S. (2000). Meaning and grammar: An introduction to semantics (2nd ed.). MIT Press.

Lyons, J. (1977). Semantics (Vol. 2). Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139165693

Palmer, F. R. (1996). Semantics (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

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Shadia, Y. B. (2010, October 21). Presupposition and entailment. Retrieved from http://www.kau.edu.sa.

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Published

2026-10-28

How to Cite

Qualitative Study on Semantic Entailment, Implicature and Pre-Supposition among Speakers of English: A Review of Donald Davison’s Truth-Conditional Semantics Theory. (2026). Federal University Gusau Faculty of Education Journal, 6(6), 78-80. https://doi.org/10.64348/zije.2026627