Open AccessQuestion/answer congruence and the semantics of wh-phrases
Author(s) -
Ingo Reich
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
zas papers in linguistics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1435-9588
DOI - 10.21248/zaspil.23.2001.121
Subject(s) - focus (optics) , linguistics , congruence (geometry) , semantics (computer science) , noun phrase , computer science , term (time) , natural language processing , mathematics , noun , philosophy , programming language , physics , geometry , optics , quantum mechanics
This paper is about the semantics of wh-phrases. It is argued that wh-phrases should not be analyzed as indefinites as, for example, Karttunen (1977) and many others have done, but as functional expressions with an indefinite core -their function being to restrict possible focus/background structures in direct or congruent answers. This will be argued for on the basis of observations made with respect to the distribution of term answers in well-formed question/answer sequences. This claim having been established, it will be integrated in a categorial variant of Schwarzschild's (1999) information-theoretic approach to F-marking and accent placement, and – second – its consequences with respect to the focus/background structure of wh-questions will be outlined.