Inquisitive semantics

Inquisitive semantics is a framework for analyzing information exchange. A lot of linguistics starts from saying "sentences are propositions", and treats questions as second-class. InqSem sees all utterances as proposals to update the established information, where statements propose a single update and questions propose a set of alternatives.

Introduction

Information states and issues

Imagine a lock with a two-digit code, where each digit is either 0 or 1. We can consider the four _possible worlds_ that correspond to the various codes that might open the lock, and name these worlds 00, 01, 10, and 11.

An information state is a set of possible worlds: {00, 01} is the information state corresponding to "the first digit is 0". Getting more information about the real world means narrowing down this set of possible worlds.

An issue is a non-empty set of information states under consideration, each of which would "resolve the issue". For example, the question "what is the first digit?" raises the issue:

{"the first digit is 0", "the first digit is 1"}

= { {00, 01}, {10, 11} }

and a question like "Is the code 10, or is it 11?" raises this issue:

{"the code is 10", "the code is 11"}

= { {10}, {11} }

which is still a question, but also dismisses the possibility that the code is 00 or 01. Meanwhile, a declarative sentence like "the code is 11" raises the issue:

{"the code is 11"}

= { {11} }

which no longer contains alternatives that are "being questioned" and purely narrows down the set of possible worlds.

Propositions are identified by the issues that they raise. When we utter a proposition P, we both suggest that the real world is in ∪P, and ask for further information that would resolve the issue raised by P.

Denoting hí

Thus, you can imagine Nuo hí poq? ("Which person sleeps?") as denoting something like:

{"Nuo p" | poq(p)}

= {"Nuo jí", "Nuo súq", …}

= { {w_j, w_j', …}, {w_s, w_s', …}, …}

The union of these subsets covers all the worlds where some person sleeps, but they are partitioned in a way that raises the issue of precisely which person sleeps.

See also

• Indirect question

A more thorough introduction is this set of handouts from a course on InqSem.

For all the gory details, see the Inquisitive Semantics book and Some questions in typed inquisitive semantics (for an exact denotation of "which" / hí).