Japanese alternative questions are disjunctions of polar questions

Alternative vs Polar questions: the cornering effect

The problem: The standard Hamblin/Karttunen semantics for Polar Questions (PolQ), (1a), and alternative questions composed of two polar alternatives (AltQ∨N), (1b), induces equivalent partitions: (1a-i) and (1b-i) (the canonical intonation is as indicated ([7, 5])). (1) a. Are you making pasta L * H-H% ? (final raising) [PolQ] i. (1a)(w 0)= λq[q = λw.make(pasta, you, w) ∨q = λw.¬make(pasta, you...

On Polar Questions

We first show on a number of examples that positive polar questions, negative polar questions and alternative questions (containing a proposition and its negation) are not interchangeable in context. We will account for the differences pragmatically, using decision theory. We offer a simple classification of three types of use, which covers a number of phenomena hitherto not systematically deal...

Some Questions concerning Alternative Rings

Concealed Questions Are Structured

Questions in natural language typically consist of a proposition articulated into a foreground part, which evokes a set of alternatives, and a background part, which provides a function for distinguishing among those alternatives. For instance, the question Who left? asks which of the people that who quantifies over (the foreground) have the property of leaving (the background). Concealed quest...

On Reacting to Assertions and Polar Questions

1 The aim of this paper is to capture the similarities and differences between assertions and polar questions so as to be able to account for the systematic partial overlap that exists in reactions to these speech acts in English and beyond. We first discuss the discourse components we assume, and then define default assertions and default polar questions in a way that allows us to characterize...