Prosodic realization of rhetorical and information-seeking questions in Persian

Abstract

This paper investigates the prosodic realization of rhetorical questions (RQs) in comparison to information-seeking questions (ISQs) in Persian, an Iranian language. In a lab setting, we recorded polar questions (word order: S-O-V) and whquestions (word order: wh-O-V) in information-seeking and rhetorical contexts. We then analyzed constituent durations, voice quality (breathy, modal, glottalized), and the intonational realization. The results showed that all constituents, except the verb in wh-questions, were significantly lengthened in RQs compared to ISQs. Furthermore, RQs were more often realized with breathy voice quality than ISQs. Intonationally, RQs had lower f0-values than ISQs, in particular towards the end of the questions. This was caused by phonological differences: Polar questions, which were primarily realized with high or downstepped high boundary tones (H%, !H%), differed significantly in whether there was an accent on the verb (ISQ) or not (RQ). In wh-questions, in which the object and the verb were typically deaccented, differed in boundary tone: wh-RQs most often had L% boundary tones and wh-ISQs !H%. The results for Persian align with findings for other, typologically different, languages. Furthermore, they provide data that have not been discussed for Persian yet (e.g., !H% in wh-questions).