Abstract
This paper uses context theory to study the question in natural language. In syntax, questions can be classified into polar questions, alternative questions, concealed questions, and inquisitive questions. In semantics, it can be divided into polar questions and inquisitive questions. Only inquisitive questions with characteristics of inquisitiveness, informativeness, compliance, and transparency need to be studied by context theory. There are three levels for question context: question-answer facts, background knowledge, and question presupposition. The question context composes the possible world where the question is. Question understanding is a function of the mapping of the question through the possible worlds, and the set of propositions consisting of different possible worlds of the question context and the set of propositions consisting of different possible answers to the question are mapped to each other, resulting in different answers in different possible worlds of the same question.
Highlights
This paper uses context theory to study the question in natural language
It is clear from this subsection that question contexts can be divided into question-answer facts, background knowledge, and question presupposition, and different question contexts exist in different possible worlds of questions
This study has shown that questions can be divided into polar questions, alternative questions, concealed questions, and inquisitive questions in syntax, and be divided into polar and inquisitive questions which have several characteristics such as inquisitiveness, informativeness, compliance, and transparency in pragmatics
Summary
This paper uses context theory to study the question in natural language. In syntax, questions can be classified into polar questions, alternative questions, concealed questions, and inquisitive questions. How to answer inquisitive questions needs to be considered by the respondent according to different contexts or other constraints. If there are multiple possibilities for a question and the answer needs to be determined based on the context, the question is inquisitiveness.
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