A Presuppositional Study Of Courtroom Inquiry

Ever since law and language emerged as a field of scholarship in the 1970s, the relationship between language and law has aroused great interest both in the field of law and linguistic study. This thesis endeavors to conduct a pragmatic study of courtroom inquiry in terms of presupposition developed in pragmatics. By analyzing the courtroom inquiry, we aim to find out the main strategic uses of presupposition and the way in which a favorable effect is made for parties in a trial and how an unfavorable effect is canceled in courtroom inquiry.Based on the presupposition theory, this thesis will study courtroom inquiry by means of qualitative analysis. Through analyzing the lawyers'ways of questioning and also comparing the different results from different replies, the thesis summarizes several methods and strategies that the defendant or witness takes to defend himself or herself in a more favorable way.This thesis may help the defendant or witness make favorable statements in courtroom inquiry, and may help to understand presupposition in courtroom inquiry. It is hoped that it will enrich the study of pragmatic presupposition.