Estonian declarative questions: Their usage and comparison with vä- and jah-questions

Abstract

Our article aims to contribute to our understandings about using different polar question formats in everyday Estonian interaction. The article compares the division of labour between three “knowing” stance question formats: declarative questions (DQ) and tag questions formulated by vä and jah. The research is based on language in its natural environment, thus illustrating how grammar is affected by the interaction. The data (303 questions) come from the Corpus of Spoken Estonian of the University of Tartu. Most of DQs are B-event statements but they are also used in the case when the speaker has forgotten the information which (s)he should have access to. DQs are used for requests for confirmation, other-repair initiations, and also initiations of the pre-second insert expansion. Some DQs contain inference markers and particles and adverbs which indicate different degree of certainty. We argue that in addition to the epistemic status of interactants, the previous context is crucial to for treating the declarative as a question. As a result, we propose a three-dimensional framework for declaratives, jah and vä questions. We show that questions differ in three scales: certainty – uncertainty, neutrality – affectivity and expectations for confirmation – non-confirmation as response. In all three scales, declarative questions are in between tag questions. If the questions occur in the same circumstances and implement the same social action, then declarative question is pragmatically unmarked format of the “knowing” stance questions.