VI.33 For the INTERROGATIVE CLAUSE, mainly used in QUESTIONS conveying UNCERTAINTY, the unmarked option is also END WEIGHT, but for another reason. Normally, the FRONT of the CLAUSE is used for establishing that a QUESTION is being asked, and signalling what kind, whilst the END specifies what is being asked about. QUESTIONS often have rising UNCERTAIN STRESSES but either a rising or falling PITCH CONTOUR.
VI.34 In the QUESTION-WORD QUESTION (less Anglocentric than the term “wh‑ question”) is named for the WORD at the FRONT. END WEIGHT just keeps rising to UNCERTAIN STRONG STRESS and puts the whole QUESTION into FOCUS, e.g., to ask about for the motive behind a “made difference” [107], or of a known “killing” of a known victim [108]. MID WEIGHT rises up to a UNCERTAIN STRONG STRESS on the specific part of the QUESTION being asked about. e.g., “winter” as distinct from other seasons [109] or the identity of that “fire-eater” who’s just left [110]; and the rest of the TONE GROUP picks a falling CONTOUR.
VI.35 PRO-NOUN QUESTION-WORDS such as “who” and “what” can be followed directly by the PROCESS VERB [107, 110]; the ADVERB QUESTION-WORDS such as “why” or “where” generally take an AUXILIARY or “be” and then SUBJECT and PROCESS VERB [108, 109]. Either type can have STRONG STRESS for END WEIGHT, rising for the one [107-108], falling for the other [109-110].
VI.36 I would also construe a more reserved, gentler version (as if to say “okay, we both know about this, so what’s the deal?”) falling all the way from a STRONG STRESS on the QUESTION WORD, and only WEAK STRESSES afterward [107a-08a]. An isolated QUESTION-WORD spoken as a TONE GROUP with surprise or fear might get an emphatic SPIKED STRESS with the PITCH either rising fast [111] or falling fast [112].
In contrast, an isolated QUESTION-WORD QUESTION which the speakers themselves go on to answer can receive UNCERTAIN STRONG STRESS, with the PITCH starting low and rising high [113-16].
VI.37 UNCERTAIN STRONG STRESS also goes to QUESTION-WORDS in short, abrupt, or surprised QUESTIONS that point to some expression that occurred in the TURN of a previous speaker, such as a person [117-18], a thing [119], or an action [120]. A DEFINITE ARTICLE may increase emphasis [118-19].
[Prague, 1968]
VI.38 The YES-OR-NO QUESTION expects an AFFIRMATIVE or a NEGATIVE answer and uses no QUESTION WORDS. The unmarked option has an AUXILIARY (or “be”), and then SUBJECT and PROCESS VERB, the latter accompanied by various COLLIGATIONS such as OBJECT [121], ADVERBIAL of CIRCUMSTANCE [122], or SUBJECT COMPLEMENT [123]; all these can take END WEIGHT with UNCERTAIN STRONG STRESS fitting the rising PITCH contours which carry along any subsequent SYLLABLES, as shown. Having the PROCESS VERB at the FRONT instead of an AUXILIARY, once an unmarked option in older English, is now archaic or literary, as for Will Shakespeare [124-26].
As always, the PITCH CONTOURS and STRESSES are displayed here with distinctive arrows.
[his first role
VI.39 When the YES-OR-NO QUESTION has a DECLARATIVE form, the UNCERTAIN STRONG STRESS is vital [127-28].[Note 13]
More than the INTERROGATIVE form, the DECLARATIVE form may suggest that the topic of the QUESTION is not just undecided but dubious, e.g., having been the “friend” of a person whose whereabouts the police are “tracing” on suspicion of “having killed her husband” in [127]; or “not caring for the conversation” of a “muscle man” mafioso who makes his hearer “feel very afraid” in [128].
VI.40 As with the STATEMENTS in IV.26, ALTERNATIVE PITCH applies for QUESTIONS too: one PITCH CONTOUR rising from the front, and one falling after a STRESS in the middle.
The term THIS-OR-THAT QUESTION might fit a choice between alternatives linked by “or”, giving rising UNCERTAIN STRESS to all but the last one, which gets falling CERTAIN STRESS, whether with two choices [131], or, less commonly, three [132] or even four [133]. This PATTERN can also appear with “and” linking two genuine alternatives, e.g. [134]. As we see, a QUESTION-WORD may or may not appear.
VI.41 TAG QUESTIONS are the only TAG regularly described in “grammar-books” on English,[Note 14] with functions unlike the TAG STATEMENTS reviewed in IV.29. Whereas there we had two STATEMENT CLAUSES with the same function of affirming, here we have one STATEMENT CLAUSE and one QUESTION CLAUSE with contrasting functions. The unmarked LOOK-BACK TAG QUESTION has the form of an INTERROGATIVE YES-OR-NO QUESTION following a STATEMENT in DECLARATIVE form. This TAG too is a minimal CLAUSE with just the SUBJECT as PRO-NOUN and the PREDICATE as PRO-VERB; as befits a QUESTION, the unmarked order is just the reverse of the usual TAG STATEMENT and places the PRO-VERB with a WEAK STRESS before the UNSTRESSED PRO-NOUN. In compensation, as with TAG STATEMENTS, the position within the STATEMENT just before the TAG QUESTION usually has a STRONG STRESS for END WEIGHT.
VI.42 The TAG QUESTION is a popular PATTERN for mildly encouraging confirmation from the audience about what should be CERTAIN or UNCERTAIN. Here, CERTAINTY and POLARITY interact by contraries. A NEGATIVE TAG after an AFFIRMATIVE STATEMENT encourages a “yes” ANSWER [135-36], whereas an AFFIRMATIVE TAG after a NEGATIVE STATEMENT encourages a “no” ANSWER [137-38].
[135] “I’m a !sod, | ¡aren’t I?” he said flatly. “Yes”. (Strawberries)
[136] “This uncertainty is hard on the !nerves, | ¡isn’t it?” “Yes. It is.” (Hand in Glove)
[137] “I’m not exactly a gibbering !wreck, | ¡am I?” “No” (Love by Design)
[138] “It’s not really the height of the concert season, | ¡is it?” “No” (committee meeting)BNC
TWO AFFIRMATIVES, however, suggest a more pointed UNCERTAINTY [139-40]; and suitable STRONG PROSODY can even suggest scepticism or challenge, while the PRO-NOUN gains WEAK STRESS too [141-42]. A NEGATIVE TAG without contractions (technically “correct” for the FIRST PERSON SINGULAR) gives one WEAK STRESS to “not” and one to the PRO-VERB [143-44].
[139] “This is the !room, | ¡is it?” said the gentleman. (Pickwick)
[140] “It’s all !right, then, | ¡is it?” asked Marie anxiously. “Coming round to your house like this?” (Lock)
[141] How !dare you! So I’m an object of !pit·y, | ¡am ¡I? (Killing Frost)
[142] That’s your !er·rand, | ¡is ¡it? What! he con·!doles with me, | ¡does ¡he? (Vanity)
[143] It’s a funny old !world, | ¡is it ¡not? (Punch)
[144] I am treating you very !bad·ly, | ¡am I ¡not? (Healing Fire)
VI.43 An uncommon type of LOOK-BACK TAG QUESTION occupies a separate UTTERANCE coming after a QUESTION CLAUSE and reaffirming the QUESTIONING. When the UNCERTAINTY is intense, the AUXILIARY earns STRONG STRESS [145-46].
[145] Are you just kidding me on? | | !Are you? (medical consultation)BNC
[146] And is he Liverpool? | | !Is he? (conversation)BNC
More common and less intense, “is that it?” seeks to confirm something doubtful and disquieting, such as refusing to “marry” [147] or being a “thief” [148].
[147] But you’d never marry me because I ain’t good enough, is ¡that !it? (Rich Pass By)
[148] he had been shocked […] “Now you are a thief? Is ¡that !it? I don’t understand.” (Good Terrorist)
Or, a LOOK-BACK TAG QUESTION in another CONVERSATIONAL TURN takes the PATTERN of a PRO-VERB AUXILIARY bearing STRONG STRESS plus a PRO-NOUN. Both AFFIRMATIVE and NEGATIVE can signal some interest, curiosity, or scepticism [149-50], whose force increases when STRONG STRESS combines with slow PACE and high PITCH [151-52].
[149] “Mr Pickwick, sir, I have sent up my card.” “!Have you?” (Pickwick)
[150] “I don’t believe I know your name!” “!Don’t you? My, that’s funny!” (Babbit)
[151] “Captain Cuttle’s at home, I know,” said Walter. “!Is he?” replied the widow lady. “Indeed!” “He has just been speaking to me”, said Walter. “!Has he?” (Dombey)
[152] “They don’t want him to go.” “!Don’t they?” I said, curiously. (Heart of Darkness)
The PRO-NOUN in the TAG can either fall down to low PITCH to indicate your interest in what was said; or take on rising PITCH to indicate you feel doubtful.
VI.44 The DOUBLE LOOK-BACK TAG is realised by a left-right mirror-image PATTERN. First comes a TAG STATEMENT with falling PITCH, unstressed PRO-NOUN, and AUXILIARY at STRONG STRESS; then comes a TAG QUESTION with rising PITCH, INTERROGATIVE AUXILIARY at WEAK STRESS, and the same unstressed PRO-NOUN. In my data, the TAGS are either both AFFIRMATIVE [153-54] or else both NEGATIVE [155-56].
[153] “And I detest your three chairs and a bolster.” “You !do, ¡do you?” (Stoops)
[154] “He’s shocked at the way your father goes on in”. “Oh, he !is, ¡is he?” (Pickwick)
[155] “My name isn’t Betsy, ma’am.” “It !isn’t, ¡isn’t it?” “No; it is Grace.” (Cash)
[156] “I wouldn’t give a dern for spunk-water.” “You !would·n’t, ¡would·n’t you?” (Sawyer)
[Water collected in or from an old tree trunk, supposed by some to have magic virtues, such as curing warts.]
The double TAG can signal deeper UNCERTAINTY than the single TAG about the STATEMENT in the previous TURN.
VI.45 Some varieties of English may appreciate the functions of TAG QUESTIONS but find the range of forms rather unwieldy. South African English generalises the TAG QUESTIONS “is it?” [157] or “izzit?” [158] and “isn’t it?” [159] for all PERSONS and TENSES.[Note 15] The British NEGATIVE TAG “innit?” (= “isn’t it”), though popular, occurs in my data almost entirely in matching THIRD PERSON SINGULAR after an AFFIRMATIVE [160]; or after a NEGATIVE [161].
[157] I now can get into Agricultural College, ¡is it?
[158] “Ag, shame”, said the Afrikaner. “You want a Little England, ¡iz·zit?” (Zululand)www
[159] Things are going to be awright, ¡isn’t it? (Butcherbird)
[160] Even her name’s funny, ¡in·nit? (Sweet Promises)
[161] It’s a load of cobblers, it’s frigging wrong. It’s not fair. Innit? (conversation)BNC
VI.46 The most compact option in spoken English would be the brief TAG QUESTIONS with UNCERTAIN WEAK STRESS, like “what?” or “eh?”, mostly indicating that the STATEMENT is barely uncertain and hardly needs to be confirmed.
[162] We’ll have a gallop down to Lambs Dell and then up to home, ¡what? ( (Rich Are with You Always)
[163] And it’s all in God’s purpose and plan, ¡eh? (Three Times Table)
The LOOK-AHEAD TAGS “what?” and “how” with UNCERTAIN STRONG STRESS can signal that a YES-OR-NO-QUESTION is called for and forthcoming:
[164] From out of the hide trailed the pink blanket. “!What, are you stopping up here nights?” (Jubilee Wood)
[165] “I’d like tae know how she’s getting on.” “!How, are ye thinking of going tae London?” (Might Have Been)
VI.47 The PROSODY for TAG QUESTIONS is sampled below. The whole UTTERANCE may have rising PITCH, whether the CLAUSE before the TAG is an AFFIRMATIVE or NEGATIVE STATEMENT [166-67]; the TAGS put UNCERTAIN WEAK STRESS on the PRO-VERB, and don’t rise so high as the STATEMENTS. But if TAG is a separate UTTERANCE [145] or TURN [149], the PRO-VERB may take an emphatic UNCERTAIN STRONG STRESS higher than the preceding TONE GROUP. The DOUBLE TAG has one falling PITCH down toward a CERTAIN STRESS, and one rising PITCH up from an UNCERTAIN STRESS [155]. A STRONG STRESS mostly occurs near the end of the TONE GROUP ahead of the TAG.
PROSODY thus helps TAGS with simple forms to serve such strategic functions as encouraging confirmation in some interactions and resisting it in others.
VI.48 Like the DECLARATIVE, the INTERROGATIVE has received considerable attention in studies of English; but the picture has been more balanced both for PITCH CONTOURS and for TAG QUESTIONS . Here for once, “formal” written English has not been so overweening.
VI.49 The EXCLAMATORY CLAUSE for EXCLAMATIONS conveying notable CERTAINTY is the MAJOR CLAUSE TYPE least studied in conventional descriptions or “grammars” of English. It may be deemed unsuitable for “formal” usage; or it may ruffle (what’s left of) “British reserve”. Besides, it is most strongly linked with ATTITUDES and EMOTIONS, mainly PEJORATIVE ones like indignation or surprise; in BNC data, I find “exclamation(s) of” in COLLOCATIONS with ITEMS like “horror”, “disgust”, “fury”, “regret”, “frustration”.
VI.50 The two most distinctive options are signalled by EXCLAMATION-WORD EXCLAMATIONS, which favour FRONT WEIGHT over END WEIGHT. One distinctive option starts with the EXCLAMATION WORD “what” getting WEAK STRESS, low PITCH, and slow PACE; then follows a NOUN PHRASE at high PITCH starting a falling PITCH CONTOUR and putting at least one CERTAIN STRONG STRESS on the earliest suitable ITEM [168-69], this bearing the FOCUS of the ATTITUDE or EMOTION; with more than one STRONG STRESS, as in [170], the greatest VOLUME goes to the last (on “cloud”). The stressed ITEM may be the SUBJECT of an ACTIVE [169], but is more is often a part of the PREDICATE, such as an OBJECT [169], or a SUBJECT COMPLEMENT [170], followed by the real SUBJECT (mostly as an unstressed PRO-NOUN) and then the VERB with a WEAK STRESS that stays away from END WEIGHT.
In the other distinctive option, the EXCLAMATION WORD