Interrogative particle and phrasal pitch-accent in polar questions in Fa d’Ambô

Abstract Here we present linguistic strategies for asking polar questions in Fa d’Ambô (FA). We discuss the use of the final interrogative particle a, as well as the association between phrasal pitch-accent and the last mora of the final prosodic word of the sentence, with a possible change in word accent and rising intonation. The interrogative permits use of the particle a for polar questions, but it cannot be used in WH-questions. Previous studies have not addressed this question (Barrena, 1957; Post, 1995; Zamora, 2010), or have stated that polar interrogatives are constructed as declarative sentences (Post, 1995). We also maintain that in FA, stressed words at the end of a polar question differ from those in other positions, and that the pitch-accent is attracted to the right edge of the sentence, which has not yet been documented in a top-down language (Gordon, 2014). Additionally, we offer further evidence of the presence of this phenomenon in the Proto-Creole of the Gulf of Guinea (PGG), as well as influence from Niger-Congo substrate languages (especially from the Sudanic belt) in the Gulf, since this is an area-related feature of this group.

摘要：本文提出了安本巴语（Fa d’Ambô, FA）中构建是非问句的语言学策略。本文探讨了句末疑问助词a的使用方式，同时分析了短语调重音与句子最终韵律词最后一个韵素之间的关联，该关联可能伴随词重音变化与升调的产生。该疑问结构可借助助词a构成是非问句，但无法应用于WH问句。过往相关研究（Barrena, 1957; Post, 1995; Zamora, 2010）要么未涉及该问题，要么曾提出是非问句可通过陈述句结构构建（Post, 1995）。本文同时主张，在安本巴语中，位于是非问句末尾的重读词与其他位置的重读词存在显著差异，且调重音会被吸引至句子的右边缘，这一现象目前尚未在自上而下语言中被文献记载（Gordon, 2014）。此外，本文为几内亚湾原始克里奥尔语（Proto-Creole of the Gulf of Guinea, PGG）中存在该现象提供了进一步佐证，同时指出该特征受到尼日尔-刚果语系底层语言（尤其是苏丹语带）的影响，因该特征属于该语群的区域共性特征。