Question-sensitive discourse particles at the interfaces of syntax, semantics and pragmatics – an experimental approach

Abstract

Question-sensitive discourse particles (QDiPs) like German denn introduce non-at-issue meaning that intuitively reshapes the Force of the interrogative clause. QDiPs have interesting licensing conditions: While Q-operators do not license QDiPs across clause boundaries, embedded QDiPs can be licensed if the wh-element was moved from the clause containing the QDiP. We present the results of two rating and two self-paced reading studies, with the following main results. First, outright licensing violations cause strong effects. Second, for embedded DiPs, a mild increase is found in processing cost for successful long-distance licensing. Third, effects for violations of syntactic locality are surprisingly weak in offline and online measures. We discuss two potential ways to account for the last findings. On the one hand, we consider an explanation in terms of processing errors. On the other hand, we offer a characterization of pragmatic aspects of QDiP licensing via focus association that may contribute to non-syntactic/non-semantic QDiP licensing.