Ignorance and competence implicatures in central Sicilian polar questions

In this paper we examine the distribution and functions of two optional particles found in polar questions in the central Sicilian dialect of Mussomeli (Caltanissetta): chi and cusà. The import of these particles can best be understood by analysing their distribution in various types of ‘non-canonical’ questions, based on the typology outlined in Farkas (2020). In Farkas’s account, canonical questions are characterized by the default assumptions of speaker ignorance and addressee competence regarding the question’s propositional content, while at least one of these is missing in non-canonical questions. This characterization of (non)-canonical questions in terms of speaker ignorance and addressee competence allows us to capture the distribution of the two particles, which strengthen these assumptions to conventional implicatures. In particular, we show that chi is conventionally associated with addressee competence, while cusà is conventionally associated with speaker ignorance. We frame this analysis in a version of the inquisitive semantics model, according to which sentence types are characterized by two parameters: the informativeness of the propositional content relative to the participants’ information state, and its inquisitiveness, that is, its potential to raise an issue. This perspective allows us to develop an explicit analysis of the meaning of the particles, which can in turn be successfully extended to capture their uses beyond polar questions.