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Meaning and Prosody of Wh-Indeterminates in Korean
- Linguistic Inquiry
- The MIT Press
- Volume 50, Number 3, Summer 2019
- pp. 630-647
- Article
- Additional Information
Abstract:
This article presents an experiment investigating the relative contribution of two different prosodic properties to the interpretation and scope configuration of wh-indeterminates in Korean. The experiment shows that it is prosodic phrasing after the wh-indeterminate that determines whether it is interpreted as interrogative or indefinite. Prosodic prominence on the wh-indeterminate does not contribute to such a distinction; rather, it increases the possibility of a wide scope reading. The results support the theory that prosodic phrasing is crucial in forming wh-questions, and call for consideration of the influence of prosody on scope-taking properties of wh-indefinites.