disjuncts

Disjuncts is a term used in two related but distinct domains: formal logic and linguistics. In logic, a disjunct refers to one of the components of a disjunction, a compound statement joined by the logical connective or (A ∨ B). The disjuncts of a disjunction are the individual propositions that could be true for the whole statement to be true. For example, in the statement “It is raining or it is sunny,” “it is raining” and “it is sunny” are the disjuncts. A disjunction can have more than two disjuncts, as in “A or B or C,” where A, B, and C are all disjuncts. The truth of a disjunction is defined by the truth of its disjuncts: the disjunction is true if at least one disjunct is true and false only if all disjuncts are false.

In linguistics, disjuncts are a class of sentence-level adverbials that express the speaker’s attitude, stance, or evaluation toward the proposition as a whole, rather than contributing content about the proposition itself. They are often categorized as stance or evaluative adverbials and can appear at the beginning or end of a sentence, frequently set off by commas. Examples include frankly, unfortunately, apparently, and honestly. Disjuncts differ from ordinary adjuncts in that they modify the speaker’s stance rather than the action or event described by the sentence. They are common across languages but vary in placement and form.

Overall, the term “disjunct” highlights a component of a larger construct, whether as a logical alternative within a disjunction or as a speaker-oriented evaluative modifier in discourse.