Documentation

Linglib.Phenomena.Questions.PolarAnswerStructure

Polar Answer Structure #

@cite{holmberg-2016}

Yes/no answers are question-specific structures, not instances of general fragment interpretation or ellipsis.

Holmberg's Analysis #

@cite{holmberg-2016} argues that yes/no answers are elliptical full clauses with the following structure:

[FocP yes/no Foc⁰ [PolP ... [±Pol] ... ]]

The PolP is elided under identity with the question's PolP. What remains is the polarity particle in FocP.

This is distinct from general fragment answers (see Phenomena/Ellipsis/FragmentAnswers.lean), which involve wh-question fragments interpreted via noisy channel or syntactic ellipsis. Yes/no answers specifically involve:

  1. PolP identity: the elided PolP must match the question's PolP
  2. Polarity valuation: the particle values the [±Pol] feature
  3. Focus structure: the particle sits in Spec-FocP

Diagnostic: Negative Questions #

The key diagnostic is what "yes" means in response to "Doesn't he drink?":

This variation is captured by AnsweringSystem (see Theories/Semantics/Questions/AnsweringSystems.lean).

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structure Phenomena.Questions.PolarAnswerStructure.PolarAnswerDatum :
Type

A polar answer datum with answering-system annotation.

Extends QAPair with information about how the answer relates to the polarity of the question — critical for cross-linguistic comparison.

  • question : String

    The polar question

  • answer : String

    The answer particle or verb echo

  • meaning : String

    The proposition expressed by the answer

  • negativeQuestion : Bool

    Is the question negated?

  • answerPolarity : Core.Polarity

    The polarity of the answer clause

  • felicitous : Bool

    Is this answer felicitous?

  • language : String

    Language

  • source : String

    Source

Instances For
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    def Phenomena.Questions.PolarAnswerStructure.instReprPolarAnswerDatum.repr :
    PolarAnswerDatum → ℕ → Std.Format
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      instance Phenomena.Questions.PolarAnswerStructure.instReprPolarAnswerDatum :
      Repr PolarAnswerDatum
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      def Phenomena.Questions.PolarAnswerStructure.english_yes :
      PolarAnswerDatum

      English positive question → "yes" = positive (polarity-based).

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        def Phenomena.Questions.PolarAnswerStructure.english_yes_to_neg :
        PolarAnswerDatum

        English negative question → "yes" = positive (polarity-based). "Doesn't John drink?" → "Yes" = "He does drink."

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          def Phenomena.Questions.PolarAnswerStructure.japanese_hai_to_neg :
          PolarAnswerDatum

          Japanese negative question → "hai" = affirms proposition (truth-based). "Kare-wa nomanai no?" → "Hai" = "He doesn't drink."

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            theorem Phenomena.Questions.PolarAnswerStructure.answering_systems_diverge :
            english_yes_to_neg.answerPolarity ≠ japanese_hai_to_neg.answerPolarity

            The diagnostic in action: English and Japanese give opposite answers to negative questions.

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            def Phenomena.Questions.PolarAnswerStructure.englishProfile :
            Semantics.Questions.PolarAnswerProfile

            English polar answer profile.

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              def Phenomena.Questions.PolarAnswerStructure.japaneseProfile :
              Semantics.Questions.PolarAnswerProfile

              Japanese polar answer profile.

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                def Phenomena.Questions.PolarAnswerStructure.swedishProfile :
                Semantics.Questions.PolarAnswerProfile

                Swedish polar answer profile (three-way: ja/nej/jo). Derived from Fragments.Swedish.AnswerParticles.profile.

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                  def Phenomena.Questions.PolarAnswerStructure.finnishProfile :
                  Semantics.Questions.PolarAnswerProfile

                  Finnish polar answer profile (mixed: verb echo + kyllä, polarity-based).

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                    def Phenomena.Questions.PolarAnswerStructure.mandarinProfile :
                    Semantics.Questions.PolarAnswerProfile

                    Mandarin polar answer profile (mixed: V-not-V + shì/bú shì, truth-based).

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