Meaning of relevance conditional | Babel Free

Definitions

A subordinate clause, usually introduced by if, that asserts the relevance of the clause to the main clause of the sentence, but not that it entails the main clause; a construction involving such a clause.

Examples

“To be more precise, the speaker of a relevance conditional assumes a mutual understanding on the parts of the speaker and the addressee[s] that the actualization of P is a sufficient condition for the relevance of the Q-utterance.”

“For example, relevance conditionals are constructions in conditional shape⟳ that do not seem to express⟳ a clear conditional meaning at first glance⟳. This has led semanticists to introduce⟳ analyses of relevance conditionals that capture⟳ many of their properties but are very specific to this construction.”

“A known grammatical marker of relevance conditionals is their resistance to linking their antecedent and consequent clauses with 'then': consider⟳ the mild oddity of 'If you want⟳ biscuits then there are some on the table.'[…]This peculiarity of relevance conditionals is straightforwardly explained by the ellipsis theory, according to which the consequent clause doesn't in general express⟳ a real (logical) consequent; 'There are some biscuits on the table' is just asserted as true.”

CEFR level