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Article published In: The Grammar of Canonical and Non-canonical Wh-constructions
Edited by C.-T. James Huang
[Concentric 51:2] 2025
► pp. 179–202

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A guide to construct non-canonical wh-questions

A cross-linguistic perspective

ORCiD logo with link | National Tsing Hua University
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Published online: 6 November 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/consl.25002.tsa
Abstract
This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of non-canonical wh-questions from a cross-linguistic perspective. This study claims that they are encoded through the interaction of various functional elements, prosodic constraints and pragmatic construals. Our investigation reveals that they combine a wh-expression with a modal element that can be either lexical or silent. Prosodically, they are characterized by distinct pitch and stress patterns. In terms of semantics, these constructions involve negation over modal quantification in conjunction with various not-at-issue contents such as expectations and presuppositions. Pragmatically, they change information-seeking into a denial/disapproval act, typically raising objections to the at-issue content within the scope of sentential wh-adverbs. Finally, we suggest that the origin of non-canonical wh-questions may well trace back to the hierarchical arrangement of causal and source questions: Namely, they are disrupted when the speaker is no longer interested in the cause-effect relationship, holding instead a negative attitude towards the interlocutor’s remarks or behavior. Our approach thus sheds new light on the complex nature of non-canonical wh-questions in relation to their interrogative counterparts.
Article outline
  • 1.Setting the stage
  • 2.The composition of non-canonical wh-questions
  • 3.Prosody matters
  • 4.Negative modality in action
  • 5.In the grand scheme of things
  • 6.Concluding remarks
  • Notes
  • List of abbreviations
  • References
References (49)
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