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Can polar interrogation be marked by intonation only?

Summary

For this feature, we are looking for polar interrogation marked by intonation, and it should be the only marker in that construction. However, it does not have to be the only construction in the language which can mark polar interrogation. Intonation is our focus and not tone. Intonation is different from tonal marking. Tonal marking is bound to a certain position in the clause (e.g. the final syllable, or a certain constituent). Intonation concerns the whole clause and will have a variation in pitch across sentences and phrases.

Procedure

1. Code 1 if a sentence can become a question by changing the intonation.
2. Code 0 if intonation and another marker (such as a question marker on the verb) together mark polar interrogation within the same construction.
3. Code ? if it is not clear from limited data whether intonation marks polar interrogation in the language.

Examples

Marshallese (ISO 639-3: mah, Glottolog: mars1254)

In Marshallese, polar interrogation can be indicated by either intonation alone in the construction, or by intonation and a clause-final question morpheme. Marshallese is coded 1 because intonation can be the only marker of polar interrogation in the construction.

Kwe    iro.i? 
2SG    chief? 
‘Are you a chief?’ (Zewen 1977: 92)

Veps (ISO 639-3: vep, Glottolog: veps1250)

Coded 0. A question particle is obligatory which indicates that intonation (whether present or not) does not mark polar interrogation alone in the construction (Brodskij 2008: 33–34).

Further reading

Dryer, Matthew S. 2013a. Position of polar question particles. In Matthew S. Dryer & Martin Haspelmath (eds), The world atlas of language structures online. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

Dryer, Matthew S. 2013b. Polar questions. In Matthew S. Dryer & Martin Haspelmath (eds), The world atlas of language structures online. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

References

Brodskij, Igor’ Vadimovič. 2008. Samoučitel’ vepsskogo jazyka. Sankt Peterburg: Sanktpeterburgskoe Vepsskoe Obščestvo.

Zewen, François-Xavier Nicolas. 1977. The Marshallese language: A study of its phonology, morphology and syntax. (Veroffentlichungen des Seminars fur indonesische und Sudseesprachen der Universitat Hamburg 10.). Berlin: Reimer.

Related Features

• GB260 Can polar interrogation be indicated by a special word order?
• GB262 Is there a clause-initial polar interrogative particle?
• GB263 Is there a clause-final polar interrogative particle?
• GB264 Is there a polar interrogative particle that most commonly occurs neither clause-initially nor clause-finally?
• GB285 Can polar interrogation be marked by a question particle and verbal morphology?
• GB286 Can polar interrogation be indicated by overt verbal morphology only?
• GB291 Can polar interrogation be marked by tone?
• GB297 Can polar interrogation be indicated by a V-not-V construction?

Patron

Jay Latarche and Jeremy Collins