Linking French <i>wh</i> -in-situ and context: a choice function analysis

Abstract French wh -in-situ questions may be infelicitous when a quantifier or focus expression precedes the in-situ wh -phrase (‘intervention effects’). However, these intervention effects are absent in a certain type of context. This paper offers an account of French wh -in-situ questions that explains the role of context. We propose that French wh -phrases can be interpreted in-situ by means of a contextually bound choice function. We further hypothesise that, due to an ongoing process of language change, there are two groups of French speakers. Both groups can interpret wh -in-situ via the choice function but one group may additionally use covert movement. We show how the choice function account along with this ‘Two speaker groups hypothesis’ accounts for the effect of context on intervention effects, as well as several other longstanding debates regarding the semantics and prosody of French wh -in-situ questions.