In this paper we investigate the role of prosody and gesture in the interpretation of yes-answers to negative yes/no-questions in Catalan, a language with a polarity-based system of confirmation/contradiction of negative yes/no-questions. Two rating experiments were conducted to test (i) whether yes-answers to negative yes/no-questions are perceived as ambiguous by Catalan speakers when prosody and gesture are not available (Experiment 1), and (ii) whether the interpretation of sí ‘yes’ as an answer ...
In this paper we investigate the role of prosody and gesture in the interpretation of yes-answers to negative yes/no-questions in Catalan, a language with a polarity-based system of confirmation/contradiction of negative yes/no-questions. Two rating experiments were conducted to test (i) whether yes-answers to negative yes/no-questions are perceived as ambiguous by Catalan speakers when prosody and gesture are not available (Experiment 1), and (ii) whether the interpretation of sí ‘yes’ as an answer to a negative yes/no-question is dependent on prosodic and gestural properties of the answer (Experiment 2). Our results show that yes always asserts a salient propositional discourse referent, which can be either p or ¬p. Intonation and gesture guide the interpretation of yes-answers to negative yes/no-questions in Catalan, and we show that a yes-answer with a marked intonation and gesture is to be interpreted as a denial or REJECT of a salient propositional discourse referent.
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