LIS contains a full paradigm ofinterrogativesigns. Below, we provide a non-exhaustive list of wh-signs.
wh
a. what
wh
b. which
wh
c. who
wh
d. why
wh
e. when(1)
wh
f. when(2)
wh
g. where
wh
h. how(1)
wh
i. how(2)
wh
j. how_many
Another sign commonly found in LIS interrogatives is the one glossed qartichoke.
qartichoke
The meaning of qartichoke can be recovered by looking at its role in the sentence. For example, qartichoke corresponds to the animate subject in the following sentence, so it is naturally translated by ‘who’.
wh
A: arrive qartichoke
B: gianni
‘Who arrived?’ ‘Gianni.’
qartichoke corresponds to the inanimate subject in the following sentence, so it is naturally translated by ‘what’.
wh
A: happen qartichoke
B: gianni CL(V): ‘fall’
‘What happened?’ ‘Gianni fell down.’
qartichokecan play other grammatical roles, as in the following sentence.
wh
car poss2 break qartichoke
‘Where did your car break?’
Another way to single out the specific meaning of qartichoke is to look at the mouthing it is associated to. qartichokemay be co-articulated with some vowels or consonants present in the corresponding Italian wh-word. For example, in the following sentence the mouthing reproducing the consonant [p] present in the corresponding Italian wh- phrase perché (‘why’) is produced simultaneously with qartichoke.
wh
[p]
ix2 leave qartichoke
‘Why are you leaving?’
In the following sentence, the mouthing producing the sound [ku] present in the corresponding Italian wh-phrase quando (‘when’) is produced simultaneously with qartichoke.
wh
[ku]
ix2 leave qartichoke
‘When are you leaving?’