2018 Volume 21 Issue 1 Pages 146-159
There are two differences between Japanese and Chinese regarding the use of yes-no questions with indefinite elements (YNQs) and wh-questions (WHQs). 1) There are cases when YNQs can be used naturally in Japanese, but not in Chinese. 2) There are cases when WHQs can be used naturally in Chinese, but not in Japanese. Two factors were found to be relevant to these differences. (1) Pragmatic factor: presuppositions of questions in Chinese are more sensitive to the intrinsic functions of speech situations than in Japanese. (2) Grammatical factor: the choice of YNQ or WHQ is dependent on the speaker’s assumption in Chinese, whereas it is dependent upon the real world situation in Japanese.
