Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T14:05:32.117Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

What's ‘what’ in French questions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2001

BERNADETTE PLUNKETT
BERNADETTE PLUNKETT
Affiliation:
University of York
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The analysis of French ‘what’ questions poses a number of difficulties. These questions exhibit numerous peculiarities, especially when they involve a subject wh-phrase. It is argued that the anomalous paradigm derives from three independent factors. The first is linked to the general status of matrix subject wh-phrases and the position they occupy at the interface levels. The second relates to the status of que ‘what’ as a phonological clitic. The third is argued to derive from the difference between strong quoi ‘what’ and weak que with respect to specificity. Once the interaction of these factors is taken into account, the unusual paradigm is completely explained.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Linguistics , Volume 36 , Issue 3 , November 2000 , pp. 511 - 530
Copyright
2000 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

This paper owes much to comments and suggestions by David Adger and Anthony Warner as well as by JL referees. Particular thanks to Paul Hirschbühler for discussion and critical examples. Thanks also to the numerous other French speakers who provided judgements.