Interrogation

As indicated, headshake may have two different functions, i.e. lexical and grammatical. As a lexical function, headshake often accompanies HAYIR ‘no’ and HAYIR-HAYIR ‘no-no.’

As Table 2.5 specifies, besides negation nonmanual markers that are realized lexically, headshake and non-neutral brow position are the most common nonmanual markers that can spread over sentences. Further down this line of reasoning, Gökgöz observed both eyebrow raise and eyebrow lowering in negated sentences.

Since the head tilt is a short movement, it is not suitable for spreading (this can be compared to the headshake, which can be prolonged through repetition).

Even the freezing of the head in the end position of the head tilt would probably not be enough to indicate that the negation is still ongoing. Therefore, non-neutral brow position may be needed, which has a salient end configuration that – even though the raising movement has been terminated – may still be able to convey the continuation of the marking.

To conclude, the basic verbal negation form in TİD is the cliticization (or suffixation) with DEĞİL, together with the nonmanual head tilt and eyebrow raise.

The nonmanual signals of the head tilt are realized with the verb as host, while the non-neutral brow position can spread over material preceding the verb, with the exception of the subject. In addition, not every verb is required to cliticize with DEĞİL, and a head tilt after the verb, or marking the verb with a headshake, are sufficient to mark negotiation.

q a. J-O-H-N BECOME-ANGRY Is John angry?

(Baker & Cokely 1980, p. 123)

whq b. JOHN BUY WHAT

What did John buy?

(Petronio & Lillo-Martin 1997, p. 26)

The next section will provide an introduction to polar and content questions in TİD, followed by a discussion of the basic syntactical properties of both question types.

Polar Questions (yes/no questions) in TİD

There are two possible methods to express polar questions in TİD: (i) through the use of a head forward movement (hf), or (ii) as a question particle (Zeshan 2003, 2004, 2006). In both cases, as in declarative sentences, word order does not change. Göksel et al. (2009, 2010) analyze yes/no questions in TİD and suggest that they are accompanied by a head-and-shoulders forward movement, as well as a head nod. The spreading properties of these two distinct nonmanual signals are not necessarily the same, however, as can be seen in (19). Furthermore, the research of Arık (2006) supports the hypothesis that a nonmanual head nod (hn) may also be observed in polar questions in TİD. This head nod is very similar to the chin down ‘cd’ in Gökgöz & Arık (2011).

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hn

hf NOW SAME NOW SAME Is it still the same now?

(Göksel et al., 2010, p. 2)

Unlike the eyebrow raising and furrowing observed in ASL, TİD appears to mark interrogative sentences through the use of head movements. However, Gökgöz & Arık (2011), claim that eyebrow position is not neutral in polar questions in TİD. The use of both eyebrow raises and furrows has been detected in polar questions in TİD, and may continue throughout the whole sentence, as in sentence (20).

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cd br POSS-2 MOTHER CHILD HAVE Does your mother have a child?

(Gökgöz & Arık 2011, p. 69, cd: chin down, br: brow raise)

In addition to the nonmanual markings defined above, the use of a question particle at the end of polar questions (Zeshan 2003, Arık 2006, Göksel et al. 2009 and Gökgöz & Arık 2011), has also been observed. An optional ‘question particle’

is defined as a question mark sign (Q-MARK), whose movement mimics the shape of a question mark, using the index finger. Q-MARK can also simultaneously occur with the mouthing of the Turkish question particle (-mI). Gökgöz & Arık (2011) note that the question particle used in polar questions occurs at the end of a sentence (21a). The position of the question mark can neither be sentence-initial (21b), nor preverbal (21c).

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cd

br

a. POSS-2 MOTHER EUROPE GO Q-MARK Will your mother go to Europe?

b. * Q-MARK POSS-2 MOTHER EUROPE GO

c.* POSS-2 MOTHER Q-MARK EUROPE GO

(Gökgöz & Arık 2011, p. 70)

In sum, polar questions have unique nonmanual markings and use Q-MARK when required. So far we have discussed three different possible nonmanual elements used in polar questions. In her work, Zeshan (2003) claims that the head forward tilt is used to mark yes/no questions, while Göksel et al.

(2009) suggest that the head nod has a special feature in yes/no questions.

Gökgöz & Arık (2011) note that eyebrow positions must also be realized. It can therefore be concluded that polar questions are prosodically and syntactically marked with (i) a forward head tilt, (ii) a head nod, and (iii) specific eyebrow positions (e.g. eyebrow raise: Makaroğlu 2012, 2013). Further research is required to determine how and when these nonmanual markings are used to express polar questions.

Content questions (WH-questions)

Content questions differ from polar questions through their use of WH-particles and nonmanual elements. Question WH-particles (WH-WH-particles) are NE

‘what’, NASIL ‘how’, NERE ‘where’, KAÇ ‘how many’, NE-ZAMAN ‘when’, KİM ‘who’, and NEDEN ‘why’ (Zeshan 2002). There is a lack of distinction between NE and NASIL, both of which are signed by shaking both hands palm-side up.

Zeshan (2004) indicates that content question particles may have different meanings when interrogative nonmanual signals are eliminated. NERE is manually equivalent to the sign YER ‘place’, while the sign for KAÇ seems to be derived from SAYI ‘number’. Similarly, when we sign GÜN ‘day’ with a nonmanual interrogative expression, the meaning becomes NE-ZAMAN. This correspondence is also true for KİM and NEDEN, both of which have non-interrogative meanings:

YÜZ ‘face’ and NEDEN ‘reason’, respectively.

With regard to the position of WH-elements, Sandler & Lillo-Martin (2006, p. 435) claim that [...] all ASL researchers seem to agree that WH-elements may remain in situ. In regards to whether WH-elements refer to subject or object, the position among researchers is more varied. The examples below show WH-elements in subject-initial position (22a), and in the object-final position (22b).

Additionally, nonmanual expressions used in ASL WH-questions are: furrowed brows, squinted eyes and a slight side-to side headshake (Neidle et al. 2000, p.

111).

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wh a. WHO LOVE JOHN Who loves John?

wh b. JOHN LOVE WHO Who loves John?

(Neidle et al. 2000, p. 110)

The position of the content sign in a TİD interrogative sentence may be initial, in-situ, final or doubled (both initial and final). Arık (2006) provides possible positions for each question particle. Even though NE signs are not necessarily overtly expressed (23b), the NE sign usually occurs at the end of the sentence (23a). NEDEN and NERE question particles occur in final position as

well (see sentence (23c) and (23d)), while KAÇ (23e), KİM (23f), and NE-ZAMAN (23g) signs remain in-situ.

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whq

a. INDEXx İSİM NE INDEXx NAME WHAT What is her name?

whq b. INDEXx İSİM INDEXx NAME What is her name?

whq c. INDEXx GEL NEDEN INDEXx COME WHY Why did she come?

whq d. INDEXx EV NERE INDEXx HOUSE WHERE Where is her house (located)?

whq e. INDEXx KAÇ KARDEŞ VAR

INDEXx HOW-MANY SIBLINGS EXIST How many sisters/brothers do you have?

whq f. INDEXx KİM EVLEN INDEXx WHO MARRY Whom did she marry?

whq g. INDEXx NE-ZAMAN İŞ BAŞLA INDEXx WHEN WORK START When does she start working?

Researchers observing nonmanual elements for content questions in TİD seem to agree that the side-to-side headshake occurs most frequently (Zeshan 2006, Göksel et al. 2009 and Arık 2006). Göksel et al. (2009) claim that the use of a backwards head-and-shoulders movement also plays an important role in such questions. According to Arık (2006), the spreading of nonmanual markers (here, the headshake), in content questions is possible in sentences that contain NE or NEDEN. In other cases, nonmanuals are usually paired with question particles.

However, Göksel et al. (2009) include some examples in their work indicating that headshake may spread over nouns preceding verbs, as in (24).

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hb hs hs DÜGÜN NEREDE DÜGÜN DÜGÜN NEREDE¹⁴

WEDDING WHERE WEDDING WEDDING WHERE Where was the wedding?

(Göksel et al. 2009, p. 5, hb: head backward, hs: head shake)

With the exception of the expressions defined above, nonmanual markings are not idiosyncratic in WH-questions. However, similar to polar questions, in

content questions, eyebrows may be either raised or furrowed, depending on the content. Makaroğlu (2012, 2013) investigates the role of the eyebrows in both polar and content questions. His collection includes 40 declarative, 40 polar, and 40 content sentences, and measures the height of eyebrows in each category. The results denote significantly that eyebrows are furrowed in polar questions, and raised in content questions.

In summary, TİD interrogative expressions are overtly marked with head movements. So far, we have indicated three different nonmanual expressions in negation, polar questions, and content questions, and these prosodic constituents play a crucial role in distinguishing corresponding sentence types from declarative sentences.