The overall goal of the network is to work towards to a better understanding of the nature of questions as linguistic and semantic objects and the role of questions in the interpretation of natural language. The network focuses on three distinct aspects of this complex interaction. First, we discuss the role of implicit and explicit questions in the realization and interpretation of information structure. Second, we discuss the role of implicit questions in discourse structuring, in the interpretation of discourse particles, in the projection properties of presuppositions and in related phenomena. Finally, keeping in mind the insights from the first two investigations, we turn to the more general question of how questions and questions answer paradigms should be formally modeled, and how to distinguish between different types of questions: implicit, explicit, embedded, concealed etc. The general aim of the network is to achieve a certain consensus on these questions in a joint effort.

There are more practical aims as well:

The results of the discussions shall be documented in a set of joint publications. In particular, there will be a larger theoretical paper providing an overview of the theoretical problems arising with questions in discourse and the possible solutions to these problems. In addition, there will be a number of papers on particular empirical phenomena in which questions in discourse are used as a tool for semantic/pragmatic analysis. In order to ensure maximal quality of these papers we intend to publish them in a special issue of a major international journal.

The meetings shall not only concentrate on the general theoretical questions raised above but also help to identify areas in need of further theoretical and/or empirical inquiry, such as the interpretation of discourse particles, association with focus, questions and discourse relations etc. At least some of these fields, which remain to be identified in more detail and to be discussed at the meetings, will be tackled in future joint projects resulting in grant proposals both with the German Science Foundation (DFG) and in international research programs. It is expected that especially the junior researchers will highly benefit from these future collaborations.

The members of the network: members

To the network homepage: http://qid.textstrukturen.uni-goettingen.de

On this page all members can log in and contribute to the following topics:

• Meetings
• Discussion
• Miscellaneous: announcements, papers, software, discussion

Non-Members can read these pages, but may not edit them.

• Every member is invited to upload handouts, papers and other relevant files to the WIKI. Please upload handouts to the relevant meetings and link them from the relevant topics. Please use the following naming conventions:
  • yourname-shorttitle-sessionnr or
  • yourname-shorttitle-paper or
  • yourname-shorttitle-else

All information on this wiki may be edited by members. All members are invited to edit this information. Please DO so!

Please update here a link to the respective page if you make any important new contribution.

• 14.06.2012 All members added
• 14.06.2012 Wiki goes online

TALK PROPOSALS FOR THE 3rd MEETING Please upload here!