Polar Questions (Feature 103)
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Feature Annotation
This feature concerns the way in which polar questions (also called yes-no questions) are marked. The most common marking types are segmental marking (by a particle or by an affix on the verb, values 1-3) and intonational marking (value 6). Intonational marking may be used in addition to segmental marking (or other types of marking); here it is taken into account only if it is the only kind of marking.
We are only interested in neutral polar questions, not in leading questions, i.e. questions by which the speaker suggests a certain kind of answer to the hearer.
If your language has two or more different ways of forming polar questions, you may select several values, one corresponding to each polar question construction. For instance, if your language forms polar questions by a question particle, but this can optionally be omitted so that intonation is the only marker, then you should choose value 1/2 and value 7 (because in effect your language has two different constructions).
If your language has a single construction that combines two of the expression types (e.g. initial question particle and interrogative word order), then you should try to identify the major expression type and classify the construction by this expression types (except in the case of question particle and verb morphology, for which we have value 4). You should not choose two values for a single construction.
Additional remarks
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Values
| Value | Value Annotation | |
| 1 | Initial question particle | Nigerian Pidgin Àbì yù go maket? [Q you eat already] ‘Have you eaten yet?’ |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Final question particle | Chinuk Wáwa Máyka mámuk hal rup na? [you make pull rope Q] ‘Are you pulling the rope?’ |
| 3 | Interrogative verb morphology | Lezgian uses a verbal suffix -ni to form polar questions (Am at-ana-ni? [he come-PST-Q] ‘Has he come?’). |
| 4 | Question particle and interrogative verb morphology | Some languages have both morphological marking on the verb and a free-standing particle, Kashmiri. |
| 5 | Interrogative word order | English Have you eaten? |
| 6 | Absence of declarative morphemes | Some languages have an overt declarative marker, and questions are marked by the absence of the declarative marker. This is very rare in the world’s languages (an example is Kabardian). |
| 7 | No special marking apart from interrogative intonation | Trinidadian Creole He have children? ‘Does he have children?’ |
| 8 | Other | (Please give details in the “General comments” field.) |
WALS No.
116 (Total)
