Traditional approaches to the semantics of questions analyze questions indirectly, via the notion of an answer. In recent work on inquisitive semantics, a different perspective is taken: the meaning of a question is equated with its resolution conditions, just like the meaning of a statement is traditionally equated with its truth-conditions. In this paper I argue that this proposal improves on previous approaches, combining the formal elegance and explanatory power of Groenendijk and Stokhof’s partition theory with the greater generality afforded by answer-set theories.
The dependency relation between questions is discussed in terms of compliance (developed within inquisitive semantics – INQ) and erotetic implication (developed within Inferential Erotetic Logic – IEL). I show that INQ approach to questions’ dependency is more narrow and strict than the one offered by IEL.
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