Feature GB286: Can polar interrogation be indicated by overt verbal morphology only?

Patrons: Jeremy Collins and Jay Latarche

Description ⇫

Summary

In order for a construction to trigger 1, there should be no other marker in the clause that signals polar interrogation, not even lack of finiteness compared to the affirmative. This excludes intonation, which may be different between questions and declarative statements. Please note, GB286 need not need be the only polar interrogative construction in the language to code 1. It may still be possible to code 1 for other constructions alongside this one, such as GB285, GB262, GB263, GB264.

Procedure

  1. Code 1 if a polar question can be formed by adding a morpheme that is phonologically bound to the verb (or by suppletion).
  2. Nothing else may be different between the polar question and the declarative statement, apart from intonation.
  3. Code 0 If the grammar mentions other polar interrogative constructions, but does not contain a discussion of interrogative verbal morphology.
  4. Code ? if the grammar does not treat polar interrogation at all.

Examples

Fuyug (ISO 639-3: fuy, Glottolog: fuyu1242)

Fuyug is coded 1. The following is an example of a construction that triggers 1. 

Nu  ge  yalov ongo  n-adi=a?
1SG TOP food  some  eat-IRR=Q
‘Are you going to eat some food?’ (Bradshaw 2007: 66)

Further reading

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

Bradshaw, Robert. 2007. Fuyug grammar sketch. (Data Papers on Papua New Guinea Languages, 53.) Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea: SIL-PNG Academic Publications.


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Name Glottocode Family Macroarea Contributor Value Source Comment