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More on the indefinite-interrogative affinity: The view from embedded non-finite interrogatives

  • Hans-Martin Gärtner
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 20. Mai 2009
Linguistic Typology
Aus der Zeitschrift Band 13 Heft 1

Abstract

German disallows embedded infinitival (wh-)interrogatives. Although cross-linguistic comparison has not been undertaken to any broader extent, most accounts attribute this gap to properties of complementizers and the C-system. By contrast, this gap will here be linked to a correlation between non-finite (wh-)interrogatives and the indefinite-interrogative affinity present in the inventory of wh-pronouns of many languages. The claim will be defended that, if a language has embedded non-finite (wh-)interrogatives, then its pronominal system does not have a robust indefinite/interrogative ambiguity. In addition to a crosslinguistic survey, it will be sketched – with particular reference to German – how to relate these two domains in terms of clausal typing and the illocutionary force of non-finite (root) interrogatives.

Keywords:: clause types; complementation; finiteness; illocutionary force; indefinite; infinitive; interrogative; pronouns; syntax
Correspondence address: Zentrum für Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft (ZAS), Schützenstraße 18, 10117 Berlin, Germany; e-mail:
Received: 2008-03-10
Revised: 2008-11-18
Published Online: 2009-05-20
Published in Print: 2009-May

©Walter de Gruyter

Artikel in diesem Heft

  1. More on the indefinite-interrogative affinity: The view from embedded non-finite interrogatives
  2. The world atlas of language structures
  3. WALS values evaluated
  4. Data reduction typology and the bimodal distribution bias
  5. On the (un)suitability of semantic categories
  6. Sampling and genealogical coverage in WALS
  7. Problems testing typological correlations with the online WALS
  8. Using WALS and Jazyki mira
  9. Adding typology to lexicostatistics: A combined approach to language classification
  10. WALS in the university classroom: A review
  11. A note on Gilbert Lazard's review of Geoffrey Haig, Alignment change in Iranian languages (2008)
https://doi.org/10.1515/LITY.2009.001
Schlagwörter für diesen Artikel
clause types; complementation; finiteness; illocutionary force; indefinite; infinitive; interrogative; pronouns; syntax

Artikel in diesem Heft

  1. More on the indefinite-interrogative affinity: The view from embedded non-finite interrogatives
  2. The world atlas of language structures
  3. WALS values evaluated
  4. Data reduction typology and the bimodal distribution bias
  5. On the (un)suitability of semantic categories
  6. Sampling and genealogical coverage in WALS
  7. Problems testing typological correlations with the online WALS
  8. Using WALS and Jazyki mira
  9. Adding typology to lexicostatistics: A combined approach to language classification
  10. WALS in the university classroom: A review
  11. A note on Gilbert Lazard's review of Geoffrey Haig, Alignment change in Iranian languages (2008)
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Heruntergeladen am 8.9.2025 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/LITY.2009.001/pdf
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