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In:Bridging Boundaries: Interdisciplinary perspectives on Hispanic Linguistics
Edited by Gregory L. Thompson and Scott M. Alvord
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 46] 2026
► pp. 116–138

Chapter 5
Clefting in wh-es que-questions in Nariñense Andean Spanish

 | Indiana University
 | Indiana University
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
This paper examines cleft questions in Nariñense Andean Spanish (NAS) especially focusing on wh-es que-cleft (EQC) questions — constructions that allow wh-phrases to be separated from their matrix clause through the insertion of the cluster ser que [be that]. We provide a crosslinguistic overview comparing EQC questions in French, Portuguese, and NAS. Following morphosyntactic properties, we propose a bi-clausal syntactic analysis couched in a Minimalist approach that accounts for EQC questions in NAS. We also provide empirical evidence that explains semantic-pragmatic differences between pseudo-cleft (PC) and EQC questions. Our observations reveal semantic and syntactic restrictions that allow EQC but not PC questions. Although both clefts are infelicitous discourse initially and require shared background information, EQC questions exhibit more flexibility and can contain ordering intentions.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Previous literature
    • 2.1EQCs questions in NAS
  • 3.An analysis of wh-es que-questions in NAS
    • 3.1It-cleft analyses
    • 3.2A minimalist approach on wh-questions
    • 3.3A syntactic proposal of ESQ in NAS
    • 3.4PCs and EQC questions in NAS
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Author queries
  • Notes
  • References
References (44)
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