Marking of dependent content questions
Content questions (cq) are questions that contain an interrogative phrase (IP) that cannot be answered with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ This parameter considers the structural differences between dependent content questions and their independent counterparts. A question is considered dependent if it is subordinate to a main clause whose lexical verb indicates a question, and if the question is not a direct quote.1
Types:
NoOblcq: The language does not have dependent content questions.2
Cq: Dependent and independent content questions are structurally identical.
(InitCpl): The only structural difference between dependent and independent content questions is the optional use of a clause-initial subordinating complementizer3 with the former.
InitCpl: The only structural difference between dependent and independent content questions is the obligatory use of a clause-initial subordinating complementizer with the former.
(FinalCpl): The only structural difference between dependent and independent content questions is the optional use of a clause-final subordinating complementizer with the former.
FinalCpl: The only structural difference between dependent and independent content questions is the obligatory use of a clause-final subordinating complementizer with the former.
Cpl=V: Dependent content questions are marked by the use of a question verb, which can appear as either a finite verb or a nonfinite verb form.4
Else: The structural differences between dependent and independent clauses do not fit any of types listed above.
WO: Dependent and independent content questions differ in their word order.5
When a language displays more than one strategy, multiple values can be listed. If one strategy is dominant, a slash (/) can separate the values, with the dominant value appearing first; if neither is dominant, they are listed with an ampersand (&) separating them. The use of parentheses indicates that use of the strategy is not obligatory, while the use of a plus sign (+) instead of an ampersand indicates that the two strategies must be used simultaneously.
1: When the question is restructured into a statement, with or without a shift in the grammatical subject of the verb, the clause is considered to constitute an indirect quote, rather than a direct quote. Both criteria can be seen in English. Compare the question Where are you going? to its answer: She asked me where I was going.
2: In most languages that display this value, content questions can only appear within subordinate clauses as direct quotations.
3: This complementizer appears in addition to the IP.
4: Finite verbs should be examined to determine whether they belong to the dependent question. If a question verb cannot be found in the main clause (either the same verb repeated in the dependent clause or a different verb), the verb in the subordinate clause is in fact part of the main clause.
5: The use of this parameter and its optional equivalent are discussed in detail in the parameter Word order of dependent content questions.