The Interrogative Left Periphery: How a Clause Becomes a Question

Abstract

Question meaning is built up at three points in the interrogative left periphery. An interrogative is differentiated semantically from a declarative at CP. It becomes a request for information by the speaker, directed toward the addressee, at SAP (Speech Act Phrase). In between is PerspP (Perspective Phrase), which introduces PRO, an individual for whom the interrogative CP is potentially active. PRO is the perspectival center, the individual from whose point of view the interrogative can be a request for information. When the speaker argument in SAP binds PRO, we get a matrix question. When a matrix subject binds PRO, we get quasi-subordination. Quasi-subordination is a hybrid between true subordination (with respect to pronominal interpretation, for example) and matrix questions (with respect to intonation, for example). Restrictions on quasi-subordination are regulated by, in addition to standard selectional restrictions, semantic compatibility between the implied ignorance of the individual who is the perspectival center of the question and the meaning of the embedding clause. Empirical support for this view of the interrogative left periphery comes from a range of phenomena from unrelated languages. Several further implications are discussed, making connections to similar proposals about other clause types and to developments in our understanding of how complement selection works.