[Lingtyp] "Hell if I know!" marker

[Wesley Kuhron Jones]

Hi all,

Horokoi (Trans-New Guinea, Morobe Province, [gsp]) has two emphatic
question markers that I know of so far: *kho* (currently glossing as
'I.wonder') and *khuní* (currently glossing as 'hell.if.I.know'). I am
trying to figure out what terms to use to describe them.

Note that *khuní* appears, from looking at the form, to be derived from
*kho* plus a particle *ni* which is often used in other contexts for
emphasis or contrastive focus.

In exchange 1, the "I wonder" marker *kho* is used because speaker B also
just noticed and wonders what happened.

1A: *Nga wo-re?*
where go-3sg.prs
'Where did that person go?'

1B: *Nga wo-re kho?*
where go-3sg.prs I.wonder
'Hey yeah, where did they go indeed?'
(I didn't notice that they were gone until you said 1A, then I looked and
also am wondering where they went.)

In exchange 2, the "hell if I know" marker *khuní* is used because speaker
B seems to already have wondered about this and accepted that they don't
know the answer. Then speaker A asks them about it and they respond.

2A: *Nga wo-re?*
where go-3sg.prs
'Where did that person go?'

2B: *Nga wo-re khuní?*
where go-3sg.prs hell.if.I.know
'Yeah man, where *did* they go?'
(Rhetorical, I have no idea what the answer is.)

Both of these markers can also be used in questions that are not responses
to other questions.

3. *Neku-kha ihe a-re kho?*
who-foc pig kill-3sg.prs I.wonder
'Who killed the pig?'
(Someone brings me a dead pig, I see it, and I ask this.)

4. *Neku-kha ihe a-re khuní?*
who-foc pig kill-3sg.prs hell.if.I.know
'Who killed the pig?'
(I know that a pig has been killed, so I go to the place where it is and
ask this to the people there.)

It seems that 1B and 2B are used rhetorically, while 3 and 4 are actually
seeking answers from the listener.

I know of a few particles like *denn* in German and *acaba* in Turkish that
have some similar functions to these. Please let me know any terminology
about these kinds of markers, references, or examples from other languages.

Thanks in advance!
Wesley Kuhron Jones
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