The argumentative functions of strategic questions in Portuguese parliamentary speeches
Fabrizio Macagno · Linguistics Vanguard · 2025
Abstract A question is normally defined in linguistics considering its presumptive illocutionary function, namely eliciting an answer to acquire information. However, questions have several “nonstandard” functions beyond the information-seeking one. One of the most important uses of questions, almost neglected in contemporary literature, is the strategic one, consisting of altering the interlocutors’ commitment stores to support a specific viewpoint or challenge the opposite standpoint. However, what does this modification of commitments amount to, and how and why is it used in a discourse? This paper aims to analyze the variety of argumentative uses of different syntactic types of nonstandard interrogative utterances, focusing on the types of arguments they express and how they modify the commitments of the two parties. Through the analysis of the Portuguese corpus of parliamentary speeches of 2022 (ParlaMint 4.0), the most important argumentative functions that nonstandard questions play therein are presented and illustrated.