Re: Tag questions

From: "Carlos Thompson"

> Well, AFMC
>
> In Chleweyish the question word is always final and all questions are
> kind of tag questions:
>   doy wabbe -- I write
>   doy wabbe va? -- Do I write. -or- I write, don't I?
>
> (somebody guess where did I borrowed "va"?)
>
> In Biwa, the respective (tense agreement) interrogative modal is used:
>   Gij flerda pé dimbe el.  Cij?
>   Gij flerda ár dimbe el.  Cij?
In Géarthnuns, we use the adverb "mva". In an indicative sentence, "mva" is
used to acknowledge a certain fact before you hit the listener with the
sonic whammy, a contrary statement which was your real purpose in the first
place:

San la sa afévansat shamörenat mva augzébezh, arkfö sap la ba mölman
göbrekh.
There is no doubt that she has a good voice, but she does not know how to
sing.
True, she has a good voice, *but*...

In an interrogative sentence, it sets up a tag question:

Fenfe lí mva hökadiz?
You're not going, are you?

Even a minimalist grunt or nod is expected of the listener.

"Mva hö" by itself is usually said by the listener to indicate a sort of
agreement, like Japanese "Soo desu ne."

-Che hengedalths la ngüdhez.
-Mva hö.

-It's hot today.
-Sure is. Ain't it just, though. You said it. Indeed.

I suppose if one weren't truly expecting an answer, "mva hö" could be used
by the speaker to assert something:

Seth la ngüdhez, mva hö?
Hot enough for ya? My, it's hot, isn't it?

Still, this is quite informal and conversational, and, embracing the
Japanese concept of "aitsuchi", the listener would still probably proffer
*some*thing as a response, even if another "mva hö".

-Seth la ngüdhez, mva hö?
-Mva hö.

-Hot enough for ya?
-Yep.

Kou