Re: Question about Questions

Christian Thalmann wrote:
->That got me wondering what such an interrogative intonation would sound
>like...  all languages I've come in contact with so far raise the pitch
>of the voice towards the end of the sentence.  Is that some sort of
>global constant of human communication or just another IEism?  What
>other ways are there in the langs of the world?

In the 2 languages more or less at my command (Spanish and Indonesian) it's
normal/falling intonation if there's a question word; rising if not.
Indonesian differs from Engl/Span. in having a yes-no question particle
"apa(kah)" so:
       Mau makan? (rising inton.) "do you want to eat?" same as--
        Apa(kah)  mau makan (normal)  "do you want to eat?"
The first is a little more colloquial, but both are encountered in everyday
usage.

"Apa" also means "what?", in which case it stands in normal object position,
with normal intonation:
    Mau makan apa?  'what do you want to eat?'