Presupposition projection from 'or' vs. 'and' – an experimental comparison

Abstract

We present experimental evidence that conjunction and disjunction differ in terms of presupposition projection: Presuppositions project asymmetrically from conjunction; a presupposition in the first conjunct projects regardless of any information in the second conjunct that could be used to satisfy the presupposition. Disjunction on the other hand shows a radically different profile, which points to symmetric behavior: as long as there is one disjunct which carries information that can filter the presupposition, no projection occurs. This result strongly argues against accounts that take all projection to be asymmetrically determined by linear order in a uniform way across connectives.