Prosody is adding what?: Echo questions are not a thing

Authors

  • Maria Biezma University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Bettina Braun University of Konstanz
  • Angela James University of Konstanz

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3765/salt.v31i0.5084

Abstract

While echo questions (EcQs) are often said to be identified by their prosodic properties, there is no empirical study actually supporting such claim. Focusing on wh-utterances we provide results from a production study, a classifier, and a perception study to argue that prosody is not a reliable cue to identify an inquisitive utterance as EcQ. We also offer a model that unifies the semantics of utterances inquiring about what has just been said (EcQs) and utterances inquiring about ‘non-discursive’ facts, information seeking questions (InfQs), while keeping the interpretation of the utterance true to form.

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Published

2021-12-31

Issue

Section

Articles