Knowledge base · Part XVIII — Information Structure, Sentence-Final Particles, and Minor Classes · this topic as a network
144. Interrogative Strategies, Question Particles, and Evidential Questions
How does the language form polar and content questions, and how are evidentiality and speaker/addressee perspective integrated into interrogative structures?
Overview
What mechanisms mark clause-level interrogation, and how are wh-words positioned?
Questions do not display any distinctive word order change, but they do have rising intonation at the end. (Bugaeva 2012: 496–497) The particle nek serves as a sentence ending for rhetorical questions. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) Exclamatory sentences in Ainu coincide with interrogative sentences in form. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) Rhetorical questions generally coincide with interrogative sentences in form. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) Questions formed using nominalizers express more polite questions compared to other question types. (Satō 2008: 134) In interrogative sentences, hawe is used for utterances, siri for ongoing processes, and humi for sounds and internal sensations. (Satō 2008: 134) In interrogatives, ruwe is used for abstract matters indirectly recognized through intellect and asserted as true by the speaker, rather than directly perceived sensory events. (Satō 2008: 135) A question particle occurs sentence-finally in Ainu. (Shibatani 1990: 24) Interrogative sentences do not involve a word-order change. (Shibatani 1990)
Polar questions: five strategies
What strategies form polar questions, and which is the unmarked one?
In polar questions marked for evidentiality, the clause-final copula ne is omitted. (Bugaeva 2012: 496–497) An interrogative sentence can be formed simply by pronouncing an affirmative sentence with rising intonation. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) Questions can also be formed by appending the particles he or ya, where he is used after nouns, pronouns, and particles, while ya is used after verbs and adjectives. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The focus particle enta is frequently used in the Shizunai dialect, and is also found in Samani, Shiranuka, and Bihoro (occurring as henta in Shiranuka). (Nakagawa 2024: 327) In the Shizunai dialect, enta is used in yes/no interrogatives to indicate the focus whose validity is being questioned, or to explicitly signal that the whole sentence is a yes/no question. (reported in Nakagawa 2024: 327) The focus particle omoun is attested exclusively in the Shizunai dialect. (Nakagawa 2024: 327) In the Shizunai dialect, omoun is used in interrogative clauses conjecturing about a matter to indicate the focus of conjecture and questioning, or to explicitly signal that the whole clause is a question about a conjectured matter. (reported in Nakagawa 2024: 327) Polar questions can be formed with the same segmental shape as an affirmative clause by raising the sentence-final intonation higher than in affirmative sentences. (Nakagawa 2024: 409) Polar questions can be formed by placing sentence-final forms such as ruwe or hawe at the end of the sentence. (Nakagawa 2024: 409) Polar questions can be formed by combining sentence-final expressions such as ruwe an with the interrogative particle he. (Nakagawa 2024: 410) Exclamatory sentences ending in ruwe, hawe, siri, or humi share the same form as polar interrogative sentences, distinguished by intonation and context. (Nakagawa 2024: 426) An interrogative meaning can be expressed simply by pronouncing the end of a sentence with rising intonation, though this does not appear to be a very polite way of speaking. (Satō 2008: 22) A declarative sentence can be turned into an interrogative simply by pronouncing it with question intonation, where the sentence-final portion tends to be higher and stronger. (Satō 2008: 134)
The sentence-type alternation on formal-noun tails
How does sentence type alternate on formal-noun tails, and what pattern do all four formal nouns follow?
ruwe is also used as a final particle to form interrogative sentences. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The choice of nominalizer in the sentence-final interrogative construction is determined by the semantic content of the nominalized verb. (Refsing 1986: 231) In the interrogative sentence-final form ruwe ne ya, ya is obligatory because ruwe ne without ya expresses an assertion. (Refsing 1986: 231) After ruwe ta an, the interrogative particle ya is generally dropped, though in a few instances it remains intact. (Refsing 1986: 231) The interrogative sentence-final form ruwe tap an is restricted to storytelling and is not frequent even there. (Refsing 1986: 231) The form ruwe tap an appears to be a polite variant of ta an. (proposed in Refsing 1986: 231) The interrogative sentence-final form ruwe enta an ya never drops the interrogative suffix ya. (Refsing 1986: 231) In the construction ruwe enta an ya, ya is always pronounced as [a]. (Refsing 1986: 231) The sequence siri ne ya functions as an interrogative sentence-final form. (Refsing 1986: 233) The sequence siri ta an functions as an interrogative sentence-final form. (Refsing 1986: 233) The sequences siri an and siri oka function as interrogative sentence-final forms. (Refsing 1986: 233) The sequence siri enta an ya functions as an interrogative sentence-final form. (Refsing 1986: 233) The sequence siri ene an hi an functions as an interrogative sentence-final form. (Refsing 1986: 233) The sequence hawe ne ya functions as an interrogative sentence-final form about something that was said. (Refsing 1986: 233) The sequence hawe ta an functions as an interrogative sentence-final form. (Refsing 1986: 233) The sequence hawe enta an ya functions as an interrogative sentence-final form. (Refsing 1986) The sequence pe ne ya functions as an interrogative sentence-final form. (Refsing 1986) The sequence pe enta an ya functions as an interrogative or dubitative sentence-final form. (Refsing 1986) In short questions formed with ruwe enta an ya, ruwe may be omitted if the copula is the main verb. (Refsing 1986: 237)
The he particle: scope and category
What is the distribution and scope of the particle that marks a constituent as the locus of uncertainty?
The particle he marks an adjunct as doubtful, often occurring in a double construction where two alternatives are questioned. (Refsing 1986: 176) The particle he functions as an interrogative particle and as an emphatic trigger (kakari) of rhetorical questions. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) The particle he is placed directly after the word that is the focus of a question, expressing an interrogative meaning. (Nakagawa 2024: 326) A clause containing the interrogative particle he becomes interrogative even without the clause-final question particle ya. (Nakagawa 2024: 326) When he occurs after an adverbial phrase at the end of an utterance, it cannot be replaced by the final particle ya, distinguishing focus particles from sentence-final particles. (Nakagawa 2024: 326) The particle hetap is widely found in dialects from Shizunai westward and is etymologically a combination of interrogative he and emphatic tap. (proposed in Nakagawa 2024: 326) The particle hetap is more formal than he, frequently occurring in set phrases like sonno hetap and enepo hetap or in couplets, often conveying a nuance of skepticism. (proposed in Nakagawa 2024: 327) Polar questions can be formed by placing the interrogative focus particle he after the word that is the focus of the question. (Nakagawa 2024: 409) Unlike the final particle ya, the interrogative particle he can be placed after non-verbal phrases such as hi ta 'when' or ciki 'if/when'. (Nakagawa 2024: 409)
The ya/a question particle
What is the function of the sentence-final question particle, and does it have a distinct allomorph?
Polar questions may be formally unmarked or optionally marked with the sentence-final particle ya, which softens the question. (Bugaeva 2012: 496–497) The final question particle ya is used comparatively rarely in content questions. (reported in Bugaeva 2012: 496–497) The sentence-final particle ya functions as an interrogative particle. (Kindaichi & Chiri 1936) Polar questions can be formed by placing the interrogative final particle ya or a at the end of the sentence. (Nakagawa 2024: 409) The question sentence-final particle ya can also be used as a complementizer that adds an interrogative meaning to an entire sentence. (Nakagawa 2024: 510) An interrogative sentence can be formed by placing the interrogative sentence-final particle 'ya' after the verb, but it seems to be used only in limited circumstances because it may sound impatient. (Satō 2008: 23) After a verb ending in a consonant, the question particle ya usually takes the form a and is pronounced continuously with that consonant. (Satō 2008: 75) The final particle ya can be attached to a verb phrase to form a question, but it is not widely used, being largely restricted to urgent questions or intimate interlocutors. (Satō 2008: 134) The particle ya functions to express an indirect question ('whether / -ka'). (Satō 2008: 179) The interrogative particle a is an alternant or derivative of ya. (Satō 2008: 366) ka can function as an interrogative particle meaning 'whether / ?'. (Satō 2008: 369) The final interrogative particle ya or rising intonation alone suffices to form interrogatives. (Shibatani 1990)
Content questions: wh in situ
How are content questions formed, and do wh-words move from their canonical position?
Content questions are formed by placing an 'be, exist' after the formal nouns ruwe, siri, hawe, or humi. (Nakagawa 2024: 394) Content questions can also be formed by following formal noun + an with hi an, which in pronunciation is often spoken with omission of h as [anian]. (Nakagawa 2024: 394) In the Horobetsu, Shizunai, and Shiranuka dialects, the emphatic adverb ta is often inserted between the formal noun and an in content questions. (Nakagawa 2024: 394) Content questions in Ainu correspond to interrogative clauses formed using wh-words (interrogatives). (Nakagawa 2024: 410) Content questions can end directly in a verb phrase. (Nakagawa 2024: 410) Content questions can place sentence-final phrases such as ruwe an or hawe an at the end of the sentence. (Nakagawa 2024: 410) Content questions can place the interrogative final particle ya at the end of the sentence. (Nakagawa 2024: 410) Content questions can place the interrogative focus particle he after the focused word. (Nakagawa 2024: 411) Content questions can take the predicate frame 'Noun Phrase + an ("exist")'. (Nakagawa 2024: 411) In content-word interrogative clauses, the conditional conjunctive particle kor is frequently used. (Satō 2008: 203)
Alternative and disjunctive questions
How are alternative and disjunctive questions formed, and what particle is used?
In alternative questions, the focus particle he is placed after each questioned constituent that constitutes the focus. (Bugaeva 2012: 496–497)
Answer and response strategies
How are polar and content questions answered, given the absence of grammaticalized 'yes' and 'no'?