초록 열기/닫기 버튼
In this paper, we examine the relationship between alternative question and disjunction in terms of language typology. Alternative question and disjunction share some commonalities despite being separate concepts. The expression patterns of these two concepts vary in their degree of similarity and difference depending on the language. By considering factors such as the omission/compression, the existence of the overt connector, and the form of the connector, their distance between the two structures can be identified. Observing the relationship between alternative question and disjunction cross-linguistically reveals certain typological universals. These universals include the presence of external connective elements being more prominent in disjunctive structures, the phenomenon of omission of shared elements being more readily observed in disjunctive structures than in alternative question, and the omission of shared elements being more fluent with non-predicate constituents rather than predicates. The reason for these universals lies in the greater semantic separability and exclusivity between the two propositions in alternative question compared to those in disjunction, as well as the semantic proximity of alternative question to the juxtaposed two separate interrogative sentences. In languages where there are multiple markers of disjunction, thus dividing the conceptual space, the concept of Typical Disjunction is closer to the concept of alternative question than the concepts of Free Choice, Temporal Alternation, or Property Statement.
