On the logical makeup of how- and why-questions

Abstract

We employ wh else-phrases as a novel tool for investigating the logical makeup of wh-questions. Applying the wh else-diagnostic to how- and why-questions, we show that they comprise two different logical types, which differ in terms of whether or not two of their Hamblin answers can be compatible. How- and why-questions can also be classified in grammatical or notional terms (e.g., Higginbotham 1993, Oshima 2007, Sæbø 2016). Our findings therefore raise the question of how the logical typology and grammatical or notional typologies of how- and why-questions might be related.