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Universal 670: binary choice tags ⇒ sentence final;
multiple choice tag ⇒ sentence initial

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 670: binary choice tags ⇒ sentence final;
multiple choice tag ⇒ sentence initial

Original
Binary choice tags are almost always sentence final, multiple choice tags sentence initial.
Standardized
IF tags are binary choice, THEN they are sentence final.
IF tags are multiple choice, THEN they are sentence initial.
Keywords
order, interrogative sentence, tag question
Domain
syntax
Type
implication
Status
achronic
Quality
statistical, almost absolute
Basis
79 languages surveyed in Ultan 1978c
Source
Ultan 1978c: 232
Counterexamples
Hebrew (Semitic)

One Comment

  1. FP
    FP

    1. In Hebrew (Israeli) halo?, a binary choice tag occurs initially. However Hebrew also has another binary choice tag which occurs in final position.Kannada and French have alternative tag positions. (Ultan 1978c: 232)2. Binary and multiple choice tags: The kind of reply expected may be a binary or amultiple choice.Class 1 tags almost always anticipate yes answers or are meant to be taken as rhetorical.Class 2 tags require a reply which is generally not restricted to two alternatives but calls for additional information, or yes or no followed by a complementary statement (cf. English how about…?)

    1. May 2020

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