Can rhetorical questions function as retorts?

Abstract

While the literature on rhetorical questions (RQs) is quite extensive, one type has received virtually no attention: the RQ used in response to a preceding question and whose answer is to be recognized as precisely the same as the first question’s (called here the RQ-as-retort). An analysis of 178 RQ tokens suggests certain structural and semantic patterns, as well as common functions, some of which differ from those of other RQ types: question words and question type (yes-no or wh-) usually match between prompting and responding questions; most yes-no RQs rely on the semantic property of syntheticity, though several employ analyticity; and while all RQs seem to be used specifically to imply that the answer to the prompting question should have been obvious to the asker, many are also clearly exploited in different ways to create humor. Further study of these RQs should broaden understanding of RQ variety and uses, especially in conversation.