Two Types of Negatives: In Light of Langacker's Models

Abstract

With the same negative structure you don’t know that +PROPOSITION, the two distinctively different interpretations are possible: type A with the complement proposition being presupposed as true; type B with the complement proposition not being presupposed as true (Nakashima 2015a/b). The difference seems to be closely related to the cognitive interaction of the speaker and the hearer, who engage in “assessing what the other knows, intends, and is currently attending to (Langacker 2008: p. 465).” The present paper proposes the hypotheses, which are based on Langacker’s models of the control cycle (2002, 2009) and the current discourse space (2008). The examples for each type are examined in light of the hypotheses: it is shown that the hypotheses are applicable and relevant in both cases.