Introduction and question

[Aaron E. Drews]

On Thu, 2 Dec 1999, Grant Barrett wrote:

}On Thursday, December 2, 1999, Rebecca Meyer <meyerr at MAIL.SDSU.EDU> wrote:
}
} The sentence under attack was structured exactly like a
}>tag question, but without the question mark (e.g., "You're a real
}>moron, aren't you.").
}
}Sounds like justification after the fact, to me. This particular mistake
}(as I believe it to be) is one of the warning signs that indicate when to
}distrust content.


Personally, I distinguish the "aren't you" question vs. statement by my
choice of punctuation.  At least in informal writing.  The question mark
to me indicates a rising intonation, which those tag questions often don't
have.  This has been a concious decision, rather than a mistake and
post-hoc justification.

As for this being a new, "official" treatment of tag questions... I don't
know.  However, in formal writing, I would always use a question mark.

FWIW,
Aaron

________________________________________________________________________
Aaron E. Drews                               The University of Edinburgh
aaron at ling.ed.ac.uk                  Departments of English Language and
http://www.ling.ed.ac.uk/~aaron       Theoretical & Applied  Linguistics

"MERE ACCUMULATION OF OBSERVATIONAL EVIDENCE IS NOT PROOF"
        --Death