A comparative corpus study on a case of non-canonical question

Abstract

Abstract This paper concerns wh-interrogatives with French comment ‘how’ in their reason interpretation. Some of the peculiarities that make them non-canonical are the modified semantic type of the domain of the wh-item, which is closer to propositions than to ‘manners’, and a high base generation position. These questions are used by a speaker to put on hold a (possibly implicit) invitation from the interlocutors to admit the prejacent into the common ground, and tackle preconditions to admitting it. We aim to gain insight about the characterisation of reason-comment by testing potential constraints on its occurrences, using data about lack of subject-auxiliary inversion from corpora research. The paper reports on a survey that reveals that these questions facilitate the setting up a jousting discursive procedure, in monological texts. They are not among the characteristics of informal French.

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