フランス語の疑問詞疑問文における文体的倒置について

Abstract

It is widely accepted that the subject of stylistic inversion constructions is the focus, but it cannot be the case in French wh-questions because it is inferred from cross-linguistic evidence that it is the wh-word that is the focus in a wh-question. On the contrary, there is sufficient evidence to show that stylistic inversion is applicable to a wh-question when the subject is the topic : a) the indefinite pronoun quelqu'un, which cannot be a topic, is difficult to postpose, b) stylistic inversion is not used when the speaker shows surprise at the presupposition of the question, reappraises it, or denies it. Stylistic inversion in French wh-questions has some similarities to wa-adjunction to the subject in Japanese wh-questions and stress assignment to the subject in English wh-questions. However, there are phenomena that cannot be explained by the hypothesis that the subject is the topic in French wh-questions with stylistic inversion. A more plausible hypothesis is that stylistic inversion is possible in wh-questions if the subject is important to determining what information the speaker requires and the verb (with a complement connected to it more closely than the wh-word is, if there is one) shows how the subject determines the required information. This hypothesis can explain the following facts in addition to a) and b) : c) the demonstrative cela is rarely inverted because its referent is so topical that it is not necessary to activate it in the addressee's mind, d) a direct object NP blocks stylistic inversion, e) stylistic inversion is impossible when the wh-word is pourquoi, f) wh-questions with stylistic inversion can be interpreted as rhetorical questions if the semantic content of the verb is extremely light.