The licensing of wh-in-situ questions
Intonational evidence from Spanish
This project investigates the intonational
characteristics of information-seeking wh-in-situ and yes/no
questions in Spanish. Data from eight Spanish-Basque bilinguals show
that while the former tend to display final rising contours, the
latter are primarily circumflex, especially in participants with
higher Basque dominance. Our results provide evidence that both
question types are licensed by a null intonational morpheme, as
proposed by Cheng and Rooryck
(2000) for French. However, this morpheme in Spanish is
encoded as an elevated high tone, rather than a rising contour.
Furthermore, Spanish wh-in-situ questions show higher tonal ranges
than in French (Déprez et al.
2013). We suggest that this results from focus assignment
on the wh-word and its obligatory placement at the end of the
intonational phrase.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Wh-in-situ questions
- 2.1Wh-in-situ in French
- 2.2Wh-in-situ in Spanish
- 3.Methodology
- 4.Results
- 4.1Final contours and Global Tonal Range
- 4.2Final contours and elevated pitch
- 4.3The effect of language dominance
- 5.Discussion
- 6.Conclusion
-
Acknowledgements
-
Notes
-
References
References (49)
References
Aguilar, L, De-la-Mota, C., & Prieto, P. (Eds.). (2009). Sp_ToBI
training materials. <[URL]> (6 November,
2019).
Alvord, S. M. (2006). Spanish
intonation in contact: The case of Miami Cuban
bilinguals (Unpublished
doctoral
dissertation). University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
Aoun, J., & Li, Y. A. (1993). WH-elements
in situ: Syntax or
LF? Linguistic
Inquiry, 24(2), 199–238.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Birdsong, D., Gertken, L. M., & Amengual, M. (2012). Bilingual
Language Profile: An easy-to-use instrument to assess
bilingualism. COERLL, University of Texas at Austin. <[URL]> (6 Novemer,
2019).![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Boeckx, C. (2000). Decomposing
French
questions. In J. Alexander, N. R. Han, & M. Minnick Fox (Eds.), Proceedings
of the 23rd annual Penn Linguistics
Colloquium (pp. 69–80). University of Pennsylvania: Working Papers in Linguistics.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Boersma, P., & Weenink, D. (2015). Praat:
Doing phonetics by
computer [Computer
program]. Version
5.4.17. Retrieved
from <[URL]> (20 August,
2015).![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bošković, Ž. (2000). Sometimes
in Spec, CP, sometimes in
situ. In R. Martin, D. Michaels, & J. Uriagereka (Eds.), Step
by step: Essays on minimalist syntax in honor of Howard
Lasnik (pp. 53–87). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Chang, L. (1997). Wh-in-situ
phenomena in
French (Unpublished
MA thesis). University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.
Cheng, L-S. L., & Rooryck, J. (2000). Licensing
Wh-in-situ. Syntax, 3(1), 1–19. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Chomsky, N. (1957). Syntactic
structures. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Chomsky, N. (1995). The
minimalist
program. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Chomsky, N. (2000). Minimalist
inquiries: The
framework. In R. Martin, D. Michaels, & J. Uriagereka (Eds.), Step
by step: Essays on minimalist syntax in honor of Howard
Lasnik (pp. 89–155). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cole, P., & Hermon, G. (1998). The
typology of wh-movement: Wh-questions in
Malay. Syntax, 1(3), 221–258. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
De la Mota, C. (1995). La
representación gramatical de la información nueva en el
discurso (Unpublished
doctoral
dissertation). Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
Déprez, V., Syrett, K., & Kawahara, S. (2013). The
interaction of syntax, prosody, and discourse in licensing
French wh-in-situ
questions. Lingua, 124, 4–19. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Elordieta, G. (1998). Intonation
in a pitch accent variety of
Basque. ASJU, XXXII(2), 511–569.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Elordieta, G. (2003). The
Spanish intonation of speakers of a Basque pitch-accent
dialect. Catalan Journal of
Linguistics, 2, 67–95. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Elordieta, G., & Hualde, J. I. (2014). Intonation
in
Basque. In S.-A. Jun (Ed.), Prosodic
typology II: The phonology of intonation and
phrasing (pp. 405–463). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Etxepare, R., & Ortiz de Urbina, J. (2003). Focalization. In J. I. Hualde & J. Ortiz de Urbina (Eds.), A
grammar of
Basque (pp. 459–515). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Etxepare, R., & Uribe-Etxebarria, M. (2005). In
situ wh-phrases in Spanish: Locality and
quantification. Recherches
Linguistiques de
Vincennes, 33, 9–34. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Face, T. (2000). Prosodic
manifestations of focus in
Spanish. Southwest Journal of
Linguistics, 19, 45–62.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Face, T. (2002). El
foco y la altura tonal en
español. Boletín de
Lingüística, 17, 30–52.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Face, T. (2012). Sp_ToBI
and the phonological analysis of Spanish intonation: A
critical perspective. Studies
in Hispanic and Lusophone
Linguistics, 7, 185–210.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Face. T., & Prieto, P. (2007). Rising
accents in Castilian Spanish: A revision of
Sp_ToBI. Journal of
Portuguese
Linguistics, 6, 117–146. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ginzburg, J., & Sag, I. A. (2001). Interrogative
investigations: The form, meaning, and use of English
interrogatives. Stanford, CA: CSLI.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hualde, J. I. (2003). El
modelo
métrico-autosegmental. In P. Prieto (Ed.), Teorías
de la
entonación (pp. 155–184). Barcelona: Ariel.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hualde, J. I., & Prieto, P. (2015). Intonational
variation in Spanish: European and American
varieties. In S. Frota & P. Prieto (Eds.), Intonation
in
Romance (pp. 350–391). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Huang, C.-T. J. (1982). Logical
relations in Chinese and the theory of
grammar (Unpublished
doctoral
dissertation). MIT.
Jiménez, M. L. (1997). Semantic
and pragmatic conditions on word order in
Spanish (Unpublished
doctoral
dissertation). Georgetown University, Washington, DC.
Lasnik, H, & Saito, M. (1992). Move-Alpha:
Conditions on its applications and
output. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Mathieu, E. (2004). The
mapping of form and interpretation: The case of optional
wh-movement in
French. Lingua, 114, 1090–1132. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
May, R. (1985). Logical
form: Its structure and
derivation. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Navarro Tomás, T. (1944). Manual
de entonación española. New York, NY: Hispanic Institute in the United States.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pàmies-Bertrán, A., Fernández-Planas, A. M., Martínez-Celdrán, E, Ortega-Escandell, A., & Amorós, M. C. (2002). Umbrales
tonales en español
peninsular. In Actas
del II Congreso de Fonética
Experimental (pp. 272–278). Universidad de Sevilla.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pesetsky, D. (1982). Paths
and
categories (Unpublished
doctoral
dissertation). MIT.
Prieto, P., & Roseano, P. (2010). Transcription
of intonation of the Spanish
language. Munich: Lincom.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Reglero, L. (2003). Non-wh-fronting
in
Basque. In C. Boeckx & K. Grohmann (Eds.), Multiple
Wh
fronting (pp. 187–227). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Reglero, L. (2007). Wh-in-situ
interrogatives in
Spanish. Probus, 19, 267–297. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Reglero, L & Ticio, E. (2013). A
unified analysis of wh-in-situ in
Spanish. The Linguistic
Review, 30, 1–47. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Robles-Puente, S. (2011). Absolute
questions do not always have a rising pattern: Evidence from
Bilbao
Spanish. In S. M. Alvord (Ed.), Selected
proceedings of the 5th Conference on Laboratory Approaches
to Romance
Phonology (pp. 98–107). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Robles-Puente, S. (2012). Two
languages, two intonations? Statements and yes/no questions
in Spanish and
Basque. In R. Campos-Astorkiza & J. Franco (Eds.), Papers
in linguistics by the BIDE generation, Anuario del
Seminario de Filología Vasca ‘Julio de Urquijo’,
XLVI-1: 251–262.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Sosa, J. M. (1999). La
entonación del español: Su estructura fónica, variabilidad y
dialectología. Madrid: Cátedra.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Sosa, J. M. (2003). Wh-questions
in Spanish. Meanings and configuration
variability. Catalan Journal
of
Linguistics, 2, 229–243. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Willis, E. (2004). Dominican
Spanish absolute interrogatives in broad
focus. In T. Face (Ed.), Laboratory
approaches to Spanish
phonology (pp. 61–91). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Zubizarreta, M. L. (1998). Prosody,
focus and word order.
Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Zubizarreta, M. L. (2001). Intervention
effects in the French wh-in-situ construction: Syntax or
interpretation? In R. Núñez Cedeño, L. López, & R. Camero, (Eds.), A
Romance perspective in language knowledge and use. Selected
papers from the 31st Linguistic Symposium on Romance
Languages (pp. 359–380). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)