Chapter 5
The structure and interpretation of ‘non-matching’ split interrogatives in Spanish
The goal of this paper is to analyze the properties of (a special type of) ‘split interrogative’ (SI) constructions in Spanish. SIs are wh-questions followed by a phrase that constitutes a possible answer, the ‘tag’. The overall structure is interpreted as a yes/no question (as in what did John bring, a book?). In standard cases, the tag matches the (case and thematic) features of the wh-element. Nevertheless, in (spoken Peninsular) Spanish what I will call ‘Non-matching Split Interrogatives’ (NMSI) are also possible. In these cases, the wh-element and the XP in the tag may not match; instead, it is the dummy (neuter) qué “what” that heads the wh-clause. I investigate these cases and propose a (biclausal) analysis involving an ellipsis process similar to the one taking place in fragments (Merchant 2004). To support this hypothesis, I focus on a the fact that: in NMSI there is a form-meaning mismatch that, to my knowledge, has gone unnoticed both in theoretical and descriptive studies.
Article outline
- 1.Split interrogatives
- 2.Non matching split interrogatives
- 2.1Properties
- 2.2The structure of NMSI. Monoclausal analyses
- 3.A biclausal analysis for NMSI. Ellipsis and ‘extended’ reading
- 3.1Properties of NMSI
- 3.2The interpretation of NMSI
- 3.3Non matching pseudocleft constructions and ‘extended’ interpretation
- 4.Reconstruction: Constraints on movement and idioms
- 5.Ellipsis: NMSI and fragment answers
- 6.Ellipsis in (Right) dislocation structures
- 7.The non-matching property: The neuter qué and Scope Markers
- 8.Conclusions
-
Acknowledgements
-
Notes
-
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Cited by
Cited by 1 other publications
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