1.2.3. Content interrogatives
Content interrogatives are interrogative sentences that contain an interrogative pronoun and are used to ask for specific information about participants or settings (example below). Since most of the interrogative pronouns start with ‘wh-’, these pronouns are also called ‘wh-signs’, and content interrogatives are also called ‘wh-questions’. Pragmatically, content interrogatives are replied to with an answer that closes the information gap that is asked for by the interrogative pronoun. In contrast to polar interrogatives, answering a content interrogative with ‘yes’ or ‘no’ is not an option.
wh
A: ix2 who
‘Who are you?
B: ix1 m-a-r-t-i-n
‘I am Martin.’