Wh -questions in French and English
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Paul Boucher
Abstract
As opposed to English, French wh-questions can take a wide variety of forms. I identify four basic patterns: (a) wh- in situ: Vous êtes allés où?; (b) wh- raised, verb in situ: Où vous êtes allés?; (c) est-ce que insertion: Où est-ce que vous êtes allés?; (d) subject-clitic inversion: Où êtes-vous allés?, and argue that these are in fact ‘allo-questions’. Based on a review of historical factors, as well as on recent corpus studies, I show that each of the four question types corresponds to a distinct pragmatic function and compare French and English usage. Finally, wh- in situ constructions are formally analysed as a covert form of multiple wh-question, using an unselective binding mechanism.
Abstract
As opposed to English, French wh-questions can take a wide variety of forms. I identify four basic patterns: (a) wh- in situ: Vous êtes allés où?; (b) wh- raised, verb in situ: Où vous êtes allés?; (c) est-ce que insertion: Où est-ce que vous êtes allés?; (d) subject-clitic inversion: Où êtes-vous allés?, and argue that these are in fact ‘allo-questions’. Based on a review of historical factors, as well as on recent corpus studies, I show that each of the four question types corresponds to a distinct pragmatic function and compare French and English usage. Finally, wh- in situ constructions are formally analysed as a covert form of multiple wh-question, using an unselective binding mechanism.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface VII
- List of contributors IX
- List of abbreviations XI
- Introduction 1
- Contrastive topics and distributed foci as instances of sub-informativity 15
- Givenness and discourse anaphors 51
- Constraints on subject-focus mapping in French and English 77
- Wh -questions in French and English 101
- A comparative perspective on intensive reflexives 139
- Focus types and argument asymmetries 169
- Topicality in L1-acquisition 199
- Formal and functional constraints on constituent order and their universality 231
- On the foundations of the contrastive study of information structure 277
- Subject index 305
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface VII
- List of contributors IX
- List of abbreviations XI
- Introduction 1
- Contrastive topics and distributed foci as instances of sub-informativity 15
- Givenness and discourse anaphors 51
- Constraints on subject-focus mapping in French and English 77
- Wh -questions in French and English 101
- A comparative perspective on intensive reflexives 139
- Focus types and argument asymmetries 169
- Topicality in L1-acquisition 199
- Formal and functional constraints on constituent order and their universality 231
- On the foundations of the contrastive study of information structure 277
- Subject index 305
