Interrogative Strategies An Areal Typology of the Languages of China Dissertation zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades eines Doktors der Philosophie vorgelegt von Tianhua Luo an der Geisteswissenschaftliche Sektion Fachbereich Sprachwissenschaft Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 23. September 2013 1. Referent: Prof. Dr. Frans Plank 2. Referentin: Prof. Dr. Nicole Dehé Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ v Zusammenfassung ............................................................................................... vii Abstract ................................................................................................................ xi Notational conventions....................................................................................... xiii Chapter 1. Introduction...................................................................................... 1 1.1. The grammar of interrogatives.................................................................1 1.1.1. Interrogative forms........................................................................ 1 1.1.2. Assymetries in form and meaning................................................11 1.2. Motivation..............................................................................................16 1.3. Material ..................................................................................................19 1.4. Methodology ..........................................................................................24 1.5. Outline of the work ................................................................................28 Chapter 2. A survey of polar interrogative strategies .................................... 31 2.1. Sino-Tibetan languages..........................................................................32 2.1.1. Sinitic languages ......................................................................... 32 2.1.1.1. Standard Chinese............................................................ 32 2.1.1.2. Yongxin Gan................................................................... 48 2.1.1.3. Comparative Sinitic........................................................ 56 2.1.2. Tibeto-Burman languages ........................................................... 71 2.1.2.1. Tibetan languages........................................................... 71 2.1.2.2. Yi languages ................................................................... 74 2.1.2.3. Jingpo languages ............................................................ 88 2.1.2.4. Burmese languages......................................................... 93 2.1.2.5. Qiangic languages .......................................................... 95 2.1.3. Kam languages.......................................................................... 105 2.1.4. Hmong-Mien (Miao-Yao) languages .........................................117 2.2. Altaic languages ...................................................................................122 2.2.1. Turkic languages ....................................................................... 122 2.2.2. Mongolian languages ................................................................ 128 2.2.3. Manchu-Tungusic languages..................................................... 133 2.3. Austronesian languages........................................................................136 2.4. Austro-Asiatic languages .....................................................................146 i 2.5. Indo-European ..................................................................................... 154 2.6. Creole languages.................................................................................. 155 2.7. Summary.............................................................................................. 157 Chapter 3. Question particles and final particles .........................................159 3.1. The position of question particles........................................................ 162 3.2. ma ne polar questions in Sinitic languages.......................................... 165 3.2.1. ma ne polar questions ................................................................ 165 3.2.2. The nature of ma ne polar questions.......................................... 172 3.3. Final particles in wh-questions ............................................................ 174 3.3.1. Final particles in wh-questions .................................................. 174 3.3.2. Final particles in reduced wh-questions.....................................177 3.4. Summary.............................................................................................. 182 Chapter 4. Disjunctions and alternative questions.......................................183 4.1. Alternative vs X-neg-X questions........................................................ 185 4.2. Alternative questions: the or vs or/or? typology................................. 188 4.2.1. Introducing the or vs or/or? typology ....................................... 188 4.2.2. The or vs or/or? typology.......................................................... 189 4.2.3. The position of or and or/or? .................................................... 193 4.2.4. The or vs or/or? typology and clause order .............................. 196 4.3. Particles as disjunctions....................................................................... 198 4.3.1. Alternative questions through particles ..................................... 198 4.3.2. Patterns of particle disjunctions in alternative questions...........200 4.4. Alternative islands in Sinitic................................................................ 202 4.5. Summary.............................................................................................. 204 Chapter 5. Wh-phrases and wh-questions .....................................................205 5.1. The position of wh-phrases.................................................................. 206 5.2. Wh-fronting in Standard Chinese......................................................... 208 5.3. The syntax of wh-questions ................................................................. 212 5.3.1. Wh-questions and word order change........................................ 212 5.3.2. Wh-questions with coordination in Sinitic.................................216 5.4. The reduplication of wh-phrases.......................................................... 217 5.4.1. Languages with reduplication in wh-phrases............................. 218 5.4.2. Which wh-phrases can be reduplicated?.................................... 219 5.4.3. Semantics of reduplicated wh-phrases.......................................221 5.4.4. Syllable pattern of reduplicated wh-phrases..............................223 5.5. Summary.............................................................................................. 226 ii Chapter 6. Three types of verb-related questions ........................................ 227 6.1. Q-VP questions .....................................................................................228 6.1.1. Q-VP in Sinitic........................................................................... 228 6.1.2. Q-VP in Tibeto-Burman............................................................. 234 6.1.3. Summary ................................................................................... 239 6.2. Verb-reduplicating questions................................................................241 6.2.1. Verb-reduplication in Sinitic ..................................................... 241 6.2.2. Verb-reduplication in Yi ............................................................ 250 6.2.3. Verb-reduplication in Hmong-Mien.......................................... 252 6.2.4. Summary ................................................................................... 253 6.3. Interrogative verbs ...............................................................................255 6.3.1. Interrogative verbs in Sinitic..................................................... 255 6.3.2. Interrogative verbs in Formosan ............................................... 257 6.3.3. Hagège (2008)........................................................................... 258 6.4. Conclusion............................................................................................260 Chapter 7. Typological and area-historical assessment ............................... 263 7.1. Correlations of interrogativity..............................................................265 7.1.1. Correlations with interrogative strategies ................................. 266 7.1.2. Interrogatives and word order ................................................... 270 7.1.3. Interrogatives and locus of marking.......................................... 277 7.1.4. Interrogatives and alignment..................................................... 280 7.1.5. Conclusion................................................................................. 289 7.2. Changes in questions: areal and historical perspectives ......................290 7.2.1. Yes-no questions........................................................................ 290 7.2.2. X-neg-X questions .................................................................... 291 7.2.3. Alternative questions................................................................. 293 7.2.4. Three types of verb-related