Notes bibliogr.

In Ar. V. 957, Philocleon asks “What is the profit …?” (τί οὖν ὄφελος …;) and Bdelicleon repeats “What is it?” (ὅ τι;) before providing him with an answer. This is a type of echo question, namely an indirect echo question. A distinction is made between simple echo questions (as “ὅ τι;” above) and over-echoic questions, as in ὅστις εἴμ’ ἐγώ; in reply to σὺ δ’ εἶ τίς ἀνδρῶν; (Av. 997, bis). We describe the sequences to which the indirect echo questions belong according to the type of questions to which they reply, whether they are uttered in response to specifying or polar questions, whether these questions are rhetorical or true information-seeking questions. Indirect echo questions problematise the relevance of the question that is echoed, either because the answer is considered obvious or because the question is deemed absurd. They are marked answers to specifying questions, which in most cases are information-seeking questions. In replies to rhetorical questions, over-echoic questions are preferred.