The syntax, semantics and pragmatics of ‘optional’ wh-in situ in Greek

Abstract

Building on the relevant literature, this paper provides an up-to-now missing overarching approach to ‘optional’ wh-in situ questions in Greek, by arguing that some properties of wh-in situ are computed at the interface between syntax and semantics, other properties relate to the syntax-pragmatics interface, and yet others are derived at the interface between PF and pragmatics. Wh-in situ is not semantically (hence, syntactically) equivalent to wh-fronting, with the latter being the default strategy of Greek on empirical grounds. Wh-in situ assumes distinct syntax and semantics, while its pragmatics is computed partly by the way it is associated to the discourse, and partly by intonation.