Multiple-clause constituent questions: intonation and variation in Hungarian

Abstract

When a question phrase bears a grammatical function in a subordinate clause but the interrogativity it introduces extends over a higher clause, there are two main possibilities in Hungarian: (i) the question phrase appears preverbally in the clause over which it takes scope, or (ii) the question phrase appears in the subordinate clause while the scope of interrogativity is indicated by the presence of another question phrase in the higher clause (the scopemarking construction). In order to understand the features shared by these two types of question and the ways in which they differ, this article explores the intonation of these types of multiple-clause constituent questions in Hungarian. The results of experimental investigation are reported and discussed, and the significance of these findings is evaluated in the context of wider typological variation in the formation of multiple-clause constituent questions.