Polar questions refer to questions that require a “yes” or “no” response (or equivalent synonyms in languages that do not necessarily use these words). This parameter considers the position of the question morpheme Q within the sentence. This morpheme may appear as a particle, affix, or clitic. If questions can be formed in the language without the use of a verb, nonverbal predicates should also be considered.
Types:
NoQ: Question morphemes are not used to form polar questions.[1]
VQonly: Polar questions must have a verbal predicate, and the question morpheme attaches to the stem of the verbal[2] predicate, directly following it.
QVonly: Polar questions must have a verbal predicate, and the question morpheme attaches to the stem of the verbal predicate, directly preceding it.
VQ: Polar questions may have a verbal or nonverbal predicate, and the question morpheme attaches to the stem of the verbal predicate, directly following it.
QV: Polar questions may have a verbal or nonverbal predicate, and the question morpheme attaches to the stem of the verbal predicate, directly preceding it.
NonVFocQ: Polar questions have nonverbal predicate, and the question morpheme attaches to the stem of the word in focus, directly following it.
NonVQFoc: Polar questions have nonverbal predicate, and the question morpheme attaches to the stem of the word in focus, directly preceding it.
FinalQ: The question morpheme appears as the last item in the sentence.
InitQ: The question morpheme appears as the first item in the sentence.
2PosQ: The question morpheme appears in the second functional position in the sentence.[3]
VarQ: The position of the question morpheme varies.[4]
When a language displays more than one type, multiple values can be listed. If one type is dominant, a slash (/) can separate the two values, with the dominant value appearing first; if neither is dominant, they are listed with an ampersand (&) separating the two. Note that values NoQ and QVonly can only appear alone, while NonVFocQ and NonVQFoc can only appear combined with either VQ or QV, with a plus sign (+) separating them.
[1] A language that displays this value cannot display the value Q for the parameter Polar questions.
[2] The verb may be a main verb or an auxiliary. This should be clarified in the commentary.
[3] Although this is often the second word, it may also appear in the second position following a multi-word phrase occupying the first functional position in the sentence.
[4] The placement of the question morpheme can be chosen freely and does not mark focus in the sentence.