Questions are generally formed by incorporating interrogative particles into the clause.
Interrogative particles are always accented in an interrogative clause. Their unaccented homophones do not function as interrogative markers; instead, they serve as answer markers or subordinating particles.
An interrogative particle at the head of the clause signals a question of factuality of the entire clause; an interrogative particle that occurs in an adjunctive phrase may be either indicative, if unaccented, or interrogative, if accented.
4.6.1. Who—sai
Questions of identity involving persons are expressed using the interrogative particle sai:
sai cheŋ?
sai
who
cheŋ
man
Who is the man?
sai can also appear in an adpositional phrase. If accented, it marks a question. See section 4.7.1.
The answer to such a question can be just a bare noun, or marked with an unaccented sai:
sai cheŋ? sai aisi.
sai
who
ˈsaj
cheŋ
man
ʧɛŋ
sai
who
saj
ais-i
pilot-pred
ˈaɪsɪ
Who is the man? He's the pilot.
When the subject is a personal pronoun, the surrogate noun ipf is used:
sai ipftek?
sai
who
ipf-tek
eye-2sg
Who are you?
Tellingly, if the addressee is not a Hrmitt, buf is used instead:
sai buftek?
sai
who
buf-tek
body-2sg
Who are you?
4.6.2. What—pfai
Questions of identity involving objects or entities regarded as lower than persons are expressed using the interrogative particle pfai:
pfai ishteki?
pfai
what
ish-tek-i
house-2sg-pred
What is in your house?
mo'ipf isheni!
mo'-ipf
pl-eye
ish-en-i
house-1sg-pred
A monster is in my house!
Tellingly, mo'ipf (“monster”, lit. “many-eyed”) is treated as an object rather than a person.
An answer to a pfai question can either be a simple predicative clause, as above, or can be marked with an unaccented pfai:
pfai dasti?
pfai
what
ˈpfaj
dast-i
there-pred
ˌdastɪ
What's over there?
pfai balaŋgeni.
pfai
what
pfaj
balaŋ-en-i
shuttle-1sg-pred
bɐˈlɑŋgənɪ
That's my shuttle.
4.6.3. Where—fai
Questions of location are expressed using the interrogative particle fai, which usually appears at the head of the clause.
fai voluŋ?
fai
where
voluŋ
spaceship
Where is the spaceship?
fai can also appear in an adpositional phrase, where it marks a question if accented. However, if unaccented, the clause is indicative. See section 4.7.2.
The answer can be a bare noun or noun phrase, or marked with an unaccented fai:
fai voluŋ? fai ishat.
fai
where
voluŋ
spaceship
fai
where
ish-at
house-abl
Where is the spaceship? It's above the house.
See section 4.7.2.1 for details about the function of cases following fai.
4.6.4. How Many—vai
Questions of quantity are formulated using the interrogative particle vai.
There are currently two attested forms of such questions. A general question, such as “How many spaceships are there?”, have an interrogative-initial word order:
vai voluŋ?
vai
how_many
voluŋ
spaceship
How many spaceships [are there]?
Questions whose scope is further qualified by an adjectival or nominal clause appear to have a different structure:
voluŋ vai shesti?
voluŋ
spaceship
vai
how_many
shest-i?
here-pred
How many spaceships are here?
A possible analysis is that vai here is part of the nominal clause in a topic-comment type construction (“Spaceships—how many are here?”).
The answer can be a bare number or a noun modified by a number, optionally headed by an unaccented vai.
voluŋ vai shesti? hreisi.
voluŋ
spaceship
vai
how_many
shest-i?
here-pred
hreis-i.
three-pred
How many spaceships are here? Three.
vai srek? shtehr srekah.
vai
how_many
srek
fighter
shtehr
four
srek-ah
fighter-4pl
How many fighters are there? There are four fighters.
vai hrmitt balaŋgi? vai ashenaht.
vai
how_many
hrmitt
people
balaŋ-i?
shuttle-pred
vai
how_many
ashen-aht.
sixteen-two
How many people are in the shuttle? There are eighteen.
4.6.5. How—nai
Questions of manner or means use the interrogative nai “how”:
nai tzapjaktumi ishtautu?
nai
how
tzapjak-tu-mi
feet-3sg.p-v
ish-tau-tu
house-2sg.p-dat
How did he get into your house?
The answer is often a noun in the instrumental case, optionally headed by an unaccented nai, which can also be understood as a kind of infinitive construction.
nai voluŋtekmi? nai gruŋmi.
nai
how
voluŋ-tek-mi
spaceship-2sg-v
nai
how
gruŋ-mi
hands-instr
How do you fly your spaceship? With your hands.
4.6.6. When—tzai
The interrogative tzai is used for asking about time.
tzai voluŋtekmi shestu?
tzai
when
voluŋ-tek-mi
spaceship-2sg-v
shest-tu
here-dat
When will you fly here by spaceship?
fai buftau tzai tzapjaktufrahtmi shestu?
fai
where
buf-tau
body-2sg.p
tzai
when
tzapjak-tu-fraht-mi
feet-3sg.p-girl-v
shest-tu
here-dat
Where were you when the girl came here?
The answer usually begins with tzai, but unaccented.
tzai voluŋtekmi shestu?
tzai
when
ˈʦaj
voluŋ-tek-mi
spaceship-2sg-v
vɔlʊŋtɛxˌmɪ
shest-tu
here-dat
ʃɛstʊ
When will you fly here by spaceship?
tzai hreshlaunu.
tzai
when
ʦaj
hreshlau-u
day-pat
ˈxʀ̥ɛʃlaʊnʊ
Tomorrow.
See section 4.9 for more details about the use of various cases of temporal nouns.
4.6.7. Why
There are two distinct interrogatives to express the English interrogative “why”.
4.6.7.1. For what Cause—gai
The interrogative gai is used to ask for the cause of an event or action.
gai voluŋgu dahshti?
gai
why
voluŋ-u
spaceship-pat
dahsht-i
trouble-pred
What's causing the spaceship trouble?
The answer is usually a clause headed by an unaccented gai:
gai balaŋgu dahshti? gai hrvertumaluŋmi.
gai
why
balaŋ-u
spaceship-pat
dahsht-i
trouble-pred
gai
because
hrver-tu-maluŋ-mi.
gun-3sg.p-alien_ship-v
What's causing the spaceship trouble? The alien ship shot it.
4.6.7.2. For what Purpose—kai
The interrogative kai is used to ask for the purpose of an event of action, what one hopes to get out of the event or action.
kai peŋgetnutkmi?
kai
why
peŋ-et-nutk-mi
foot-3sg-child-v
Why is the child stomping his foot? (What does he want?)
The answer is usually headed by an unaccented kai:
kai peŋgetnutkmi? kai gruŋgahmi hroshu gruŋgettu.
kai
why
peŋ-et-nutk-mi
foot-3sg-child-v
kai
so_that
gruŋ-ah-mi
hands-4pl-v
hrosh-u
toy-pat
gruŋ-et-tu.
hands-3sg-dat
Why is the child stomping his foot? So that they would give him a toy.
4.6.8. Yes/no Questions
Yes/no questions are formed by using the interrogative forms of the verb, noun, or adjective, which contain the interrogative affix -ai that is always accented. Which constituent -ai appears in changes the nuance of the question.
tzapjaktekaimi hramdu?
tzapjak-tek-ai-mi
feet-2sg-q-v
ʦɐpjɐxtɛˈkajmɪ
hram-tu?
city-dat
ˌxʀ̥amdʊ
Are you going to the city?
tzapjaktekmi hramaitu?
tzapjak-tek-mi
feet-2sg-v
ʦɐpjɐxtɛxˈmi
hram-ai-tu?
city-q-dat
xʀ̥ɐˈmaɪtʊ
is it the city that you're going to?
hraulai dasti?
hraul-ai
planet-q
xʀ̥aʊˈlaj
dast-i
there-pred
dastɪ
Is that a planet over there?
hraul dastaini?
hraul
planet
ˌxʀ̥aʊl
dast-ai-i
there-q-pred
dasˈtajnɪ
Is the planet over there?
4.6.8.1. Answers
A yes/no question is usually answered by repeating the word being questioned in its non-interrogative form or the negation thereof.
voluŋtekaimi hraultu? voluŋgemi.
voluŋ-tek-ai-mi
spaceship-2sg-q-v
hraul-tu?
planet-dat
voluŋ-en-mi
spaceship-1sg-v
Are you flying to the planet? [Yes,] I'm flying.
balaŋtekaimi ishtu? balaŋgenopfmi.
balaŋ-tek-ai-mi
shuttle-2sg-q-v
ish-tu?
home-dat
balaŋ-en-opf-mi
shuttle-1sg-neg-v
Are you taking the shuttle home? [No,] I'm not taking the shuttle.
ehrlunetmi frahtaitu? frahtopftu, cheŋdu.
ehrlu-et-mi
tongue-3sg-v
fraht-ai-tu?
girl-q-dat
fraht-opf-tu
girl-neg-dat
cheŋ-tu
man-dat
Is it the girl he's talking to? Not the girl, but the man.
4.6.8.2. Nuances
In some situations, a nuance may be added to the reply by using one of the particles pja, ova, hosh, or pfut.
4.6.8.2.1. pja: Positive Wish
The particle pja expresses a positive wish that something is so.
tzapjaketfrahtaimi buftektu? pja tzapjaketmi!
tzapjak-et-fraht-ai-mi
feet-3sg-girl-q-v
buf-tek-tu?
body-2sg-dat
pja
yes
tzapjak-et-mi!
feet-3sg-v
Is the girl coming to you? Yes, I hope she's coming!
In colloquial situations the answer can be elided, leaving only the interjection pja.
tzapjaketfrahtaimi buftektu? pja!
tzapjak-et-fraht-ai-mi
feet-3sg-girl-q-v
buf-tek-tu?
body-2sg-dat
pja!
yes
Is the girl coming to you? Yes, I hope so!
4.6.8.2.2. ova: Negative Wish
The particle ova expresses a negative wish, a wish that something would not come to pass.
tzapjaketcheŋgaimi buftektu? ova tzapjaketopfmi!
tzapjak-et-cheŋ-ai-mi
feet-3sg-man-q-v
buf-tek-tu?
body-2sg-dat
ova
no
tzapjak-et-opf-mi
feet-3sg-neg-v
Is the man coming to you? No, I hope he's not coming!
tzapjaketcheŋgaimi buftektu? ova!
tzapjak-et-cheŋ-ai-mi
feet-3sg-man-q-v
buf-tek-tu?
body-2sg-dat
ova
no
Is the man coming to you? I hope not!
4.6.8.2.3. hosh: Accusatory Assertion
The particle hosh asserts that something is true, with strong accusatory overtones and often contradicting what was said before.
ipfaunaimi voluŋtaunu? hosh ipftaumi!
ipf-au-ai-mi
eye-1sg.p-q-v
voluŋ-tau-u?
spaceship-2sg.p-pat
hosh
yes
ipf-tau-mi
eye-2sg.p-v
Did I see your spaceship? Yeah you did too!
It's also used to express strong certainty.
voluŋgaumi mo'ipf aiherltu? hosh!
voluŋ-au-mi
spaceship-1sg.p-v
mo'-ipf
pl-eye
aiherl-tu?
distant_skies-dat
hosh!
yes
Did the monster fly away in my spaceship? For sure!
4.6.8.2.4. pfut: Dismissive Denial
The particle pfut expresses strong denial, dismissal, or disregard for what was said.
nefhrenaimi nai movmi mo'ipfu? pfut!
nefhr-en-ai-mi
life-1sg-q-v
nai
how
mov-mi
wall-v
mo'-ipf-u?
pl-eye-pat
pfut!
no
Will I be able to defend against the monster? Not a chance!
Did he give you the cargo? Yeah right, he took it for himself!
4.6.8.3. Surface Form Ambiguities
Due to the linking /n/ when -ai and the predicative -i occur together in an adjectival clause, the resulting surface form -aini coincides with the -aini ending of an interrogative -ni verb. Therefore, one should carefully note the differences in construction and syntax:
hopf nrikaini?
hopf
leader
hɑpf
nrik-ai-i?
short-q-pred
nrɪˈkaɪnɪ
Is the leader short?
nrikethopfaini?
nrik-et-hopf-ai-ni?
short-3sg-leader-q-become.v
nrɪkɛtxɑˈpfaɪnɪ
Is the leader becoming shorter?
Notice in particular that in verbal clauses the verb must be clause-initial, so in the first case when the noun hopf appears first, the possibility of the second word being a -ni verb is excluded. Similarly, an adjectival clause requires a detached subject; therefore in the second case the -aini ending is indeed an interrogative -ni verb, not a predicative -i preceded by a linking /n/.