This study investigates the syntactic configuration of wh-questions in Kinshasa Lingala (KL) with a minimalist approach. It clarifies the view on information questions which classifies Bantu languages on the basis of whether they allow movement of the wh-word or not. Unlike the findings of most research in the 1970s and 1980s on wh-questions which categorised Bantu languages’ wh-question derivations as in-situ, this article attests that KL allows both ex-situ and in-situ derivation. Internal arguments are constrained to be derived in-situ because the complementiser (C) has weak features, which cannot trigger movement. However, movement becomes possible only by the presence of the nde particle in the numeration which loads the wh-question with contrastive focus interpretation. The syntactic configuration of KL shows that the fronted wh-word in KL occupies the specifier (Spec) position of the Focus Phrase (FocP) as a result of the movement triggered by the presence of the nde particle at the head of FocP in focus-driven movement derivation. The wh-word moves because it has been attracted by the [+Foc]-feature on the head of FocP. The wh-word checks its [+Foc]-feature prior to landing at its final site, which is the Spec position of the FocP.

中文翻译：

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班图语中的Wh疑问句：Kinshasa Lingala案

这项研究以一种极简主义的方法研究了金沙萨林加拉（KL）中的问句的句法配置。它阐明了有关信息问题的观点，这些信息问题根据班图语是否允许wh词的移动进行分类。与1970年代和1980年代大多数关于Wh-问题的研究发现将班图语的Wh-问题派生归类为原位不同，本文证明了KL允许非原位和原位派生。内部参数被限制为原位推导，因为补码器（C）具有较弱的功能，无法触发运动。但是，仅在分子中存在nde粒子时才有可能进行移动，这会给wh问题加载对比焦点解释。KL的句法结构表明，由于焦点中FocP头部的nde粒子的存在触发了运动，KL中的前置wh词占据了焦点短语（FocP）的指定符（Spec）位置。驱动运动的推导。Wh词之所以移动，是因为它被FocP头部的[+ Foc]功能所吸引。字词在降落到其最终站点（即FocP的Spec位置）之前检查其[+ Foc]特征。