Locality constraints on yes/no questions in Singapore teochew

Authors: Cole P.¹; Lee C.L.²

Source: Journal of East Asian Linguistics, Volume 6, Number 2, April 1997 , pp. 189-211(23)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

This paper describes the formation of yes/no (Y/N) questions in colloquial Singapore Teochew (ST), a variety of Teochew (Chaozhou) which has borrowed a significant number of lexical items from Malay. The varieties of Y/N questions which we shall describe are A-Not-A questions, questions employing the question particle ka and postposed negative auxiliary (PNA) questions.

The three types of Y/N questions can be reduced to two types, A-Not-A questions and ka questions. These two types of questions differ markedly in their properties. Ka questions show distributional limitations which indicate that they are derived similarly to adverbial WH questions, suggesting a movement analysis like that proposed by Huang (1982 and 1991) for Mandarin and Taiwanese A-Not-A questions. ST A-Not-A questions, however, appear not to be derived by movement. Rather, we follow McCawley's suggestion that A-Not-A questions represent the conventionalization and grammaticization of what earlier were not Y/N questions, but rather alternative or disjunctive questions.

Language: English

Document Type: Regular paper

Affiliations: 1: Department of Linguistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716 e-mail: pcole@strauss.udel.edu 2: Department of Chinese Studies, National University of Singapore, Singapore 0511 e-mail:chslee@art1.nusstf.nus.sg

Publication date: 1997-04-01