Editing 1652: Conditionals
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So conditionals in language are more varied than those of conditionals when used in {{w|Strict conditional|logic}} or {{w|Conditional (computer programming)|programming}}. Another kind of linguistic conditional is as follows: | So conditionals in language are more varied than those of conditionals when used in {{w|Strict conditional|logic}} or {{w|Conditional (computer programming)|programming}}. Another kind of linguistic conditional is as follows: | ||
β | "There are biscuits in the sideboard if you want some. | + | "There are biscuits in the sideboard if you want some". |
No one would understand this statement as meaning "if you want biscuits, they'll magically pop up in the sideboard". The if-clause ("if you want some") doesn't specify the conditions in which the then-clause ("there are biscuits") is true. Rather, it describes the conditions in which it's ''relevant''. We can paraphrase it as: "If you want biscuits, then you'll be interested in knowing that there are some in the sideboard". If A is true, then it's relevant for us to talk of B. This construction is known to linguists as '''relevance conditionals''', or "biscuit conditionals", due to {{w|J.L. Austin|J.L. Austin's}} discussion based on the example above. | No one would understand this statement as meaning "if you want biscuits, they'll magically pop up in the sideboard". The if-clause ("if you want some") doesn't specify the conditions in which the then-clause ("there are biscuits") is true. Rather, it describes the conditions in which it's ''relevant''. We can paraphrase it as: "If you want biscuits, then you'll be interested in knowing that there are some in the sideboard". If A is true, then it's relevant for us to talk of B. This construction is known to linguists as '''relevance conditionals''', or "biscuit conditionals", due to {{w|J.L. Austin|J.L. Austin's}} discussion based on the example above. |