Question

Definitions and Classification:

• A question establishes a set of logically possible answers at the semantic level.
• Questions seek information from the addressee pragmatically.
• Interrogatives are a type of clause associated with questions at the syntactic level.
• Prototypical questions satisfy semantic, pragmatic, and syntactic definitions.
• Indirect speech acts refer to mismatches of form and function in questions.
• Questions are classified based on the set of logically possible answers they admit.
• Open questions allow indefinitely many answers, while closed questions have a finite number of answers.
• Yes‚ no questions ask whether a statement is true and can be answered with a yes or no.
• Alternative questions present multiple choices as possible answers.

Uses of Questions:

• Questions elicit information from the addressee.
• Display questions test the knowledge of the addressee.
• Direction questions seek instructions.
• Questions can be used for indirect speech acts, altering illocutionary force.
• Rhetorical questions are used where the speaker does not seek or expect an answer.

Types of Questions:

• Yes‚Äìno questions are also known as polar questions and can be answered with yes or no.
• Alternative questions present multiple choices as possible answers.
• In English, open and closed interrogatives are distinct clause types.
• In English, alternative questions are not syntactically distinguished from yes‚Äìno questions.

Origins and Development of Questioning:

• Enculturated apes learned to answer complex questions but not to ask them.
• The ability to ask questions is linked to comprehension of syntactic structures.
• Humans start asking questions during early infancy, typically at the pre-syntactic stage of language development.
• Question intonation is used in early stages of questioning.

Related Concepts and References:

• Curiosity, erotetics, inquiry, interrogation, and interrogative words are related concepts.
• References include works such as ‘The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language’ and ‘Speech Acts’ among others.
• Further reading suggestions on philosophical questions and critical discussions of contemporary philosophical inquiry are provided.

Question (Wikipedia)

For other uses, see Question (disambiguation).

"Asking" redirects here. For the song by Sonny Fodera and MK, see Asking (song).

A question is an utterance which serves as a request for information. Questions are sometimes distinguished from interrogatives, which are the grammatical forms typically used to express them. Rhetorical questions, for instance, are interrogative in form but may not be considered bona fide questions, as they are not expected to be answered.

Questions come in a number of varieties. Polar questions are those such as the English example "Is this a polar question?", which can be answered with "yes" or "no". Alternative questions such as "Is this a polar question, or an alternative question?" present a list of possibilities to choose from. Open questions such as "What kind of question is this?" allow many possible resolutions.

Questions are widely studied in linguistics and philosophy of language. In the subfield of pragmatics, questions are regarded as illocutionary acts which raise an issue to be resolved in discourse. In approaches to formal semantics such as alternative semantics or inquisitive semantics, questions are regarded as the denotations of interrogatives, and are typically identified as sets of the propositions which answer them.

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