Comment on Why do all languages share the same intonation for questions?
NellyAdagio@discuss.tchncs.de 2 months ago
There are languages that use words or particles of words to indicate a question, for example Turkish and chinese languages.
Comment on Why do all languages share the same intonation for questions?
NellyAdagio@discuss.tchncs.de 2 months ago
There are languages that use words or particles of words to indicate a question, for example Turkish and chinese languages.
lvxferre@mander.xyz 2 months ago
As I checked from an article, at least in Mandarin the usage of particles happens alongside the change in intonation, not at the expense of it.
Also note that even [some? all?] Germanic languages show something similar - but instead of a particle, you get a syntactical movement (verb fronting) overtly marking the question. Examples:
In English this is slightly obscured by do-support being obligatory for most verbs, but note how it’s the same process - if you were to insert the “do” without a question, in the third sentence, it would end as “the cat does meow”.