[Lingtyp] query: declarative 'or' vs. interrogative 'or'

[m.m.jocelyne.fernandez-vest at vjf.cnrs.fr]

Dear Tianhua,

In Northern Sami, the situation is as in Finnish:
     - dahje (/ dehe) in declarative sentences,
     - vai     (/ vuoi)   in interrogative sentences.

M.M.Jocelyne Fernandez-Vest
CNRS & Université Sorbonne Nouvelle

> 
> On 25.05.17 08:33, Hannu Tommola wrote:
>> Dear Tianhua,
>> 
>> in Finnish the distinction is made, _tai_ in declarative, and _vai_ in interrogative sentences:
>> 
>> ​a. (minä) tule-n       (tänään) iltapäivä-llä           tai   huomen+aamu-lla.
>> ​    1sg    come-1sg  today     afternoon-adess   or    tomorrow+morning-adess
>> 
>>    'I will come this afternoon or tomorrow morning'
>> 
>> ​b. Tule-t-ko                  tänään vai huomenna?
>> ​    come-2sg-INTERR  today   or  tomorrow
>> 
>>     ‘Will you come today or tomorrow?’
>> 
>> ​Best,
>> 
>> Hannu
>> 
>> 
>> Quoting Tianhua Luo <tianhualuo at zju.edu.cn>:
>> 
>>> Dear all,
>>> 
>>> Is anybody familiar with languages in which different disjunctions are used in declarative sentences and alternative questions?  I am looking for further languages that employ a distinction between declarative 'or' (either 'or') and interrogative 'or' (whether 'or'). 
>>> Thanks,
>>> Tianhua
>>> --
>>> In English the same disjunction is used in both declarative sentences and alternative questions. 
>>> 
>>> (1)  English
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>>     a. I will come this afternoon or tomorrow morning.        b. Will you come today or tomorrow? 
>>> 
>>> In Mandarin Chinese (and most other Sinitic languages), huozhe ‘or’ is used in declarative sentences and a different disjunction haishi ‘or’ is used in alternative questions. 
>>> 
>>> (2)  Mandarin Chinese
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> a.
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> wo
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> jintian
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> xiawu
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> huozhe
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> mingtian
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> shangwu
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> lai.
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> 1sg
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> today
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> afternoon
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> or
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> tomorrow
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> morning
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> come
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> ‘I will come this afternoon or tomorrow morning.’
>>> 
>>> 
>>> b.
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> ni
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> jintian
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> lai
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> haishi
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> mingtian
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> lai?
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> 2sg
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> today
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> come
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> or
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> tomorrow
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> come
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> ‘Will you come today or tomorrow?’ 
>>> 
>>>  
>>>  
>>>  
>>> --
>>> Tianhua Luo
>>> Department of Chinese
>>> Zhejiang University
>>> Tian Mu Shan Lu 148
>>> 310028 Hangzhou 
>>> China 
>>> eMail: tianhualuo at zju.edu.cn
>> Hannu Tommola
>> Professor emer. of Russian Language (Translation Theory and Practice)
>> School of Language, Translation and Literary Studies
>> FIN-33014 University of Tampere, Finland
>> 
>> 
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> 
> -- 
> Martin Haspelmath (haspelmath at shh.mpg.de)
> Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
> Kahlaische Strasse 10	
> D-07745 Jena  
> &
> Leipzig University 
> IPF 141199
> Nikolaistrasse 6-10
> D-04109 Leipzig    
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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