A-not-A question

In <a href="/facts/Linguistics/oQuamvf2">linguistics</a>, an A-not-A question or A-neg-A question, is a type of <a href="/facts/Polar_question/v6UgKvHN">polar question</a> used primarily in <a href="/facts/Sinitic_languages/8IYLTAT2">Sinitic languages</a> that asks about something by presenting both its positive and negative possibilities. Instead of allowing a simple "yes" or "no" answer, these questions require the respondent to repeat either the positive or negative part of the original question. For example, in Mandarin, instead of asking "Do you want to go?" and expecting a "yes" or "no", the question might be structured as "Want-not-want to go?"
A-not-A questions are characterized by their inherent linguistic neutrality, with the interrogator deliberately avoiding any presumption about the truth of the statement being questioned. This neutrality is achieved through a value-neutral presentation that simultaneously offers both positive and negative forms of a proposition. While the term "A-not-A question" originated in Mandarin, it has since been expanded to describe similar interrogative structures in other Chinese dialects, such as the kam questions in <a href="/facts/Taiwanese_Hokkien/C8257EsU">Taiwanese Hokkien</a> and ka questions in Singapore Teochew (ST). However, these dialect-specific variations are not simply identical copies but possess distinct linguistic properties that can sometimes differ significantly from the original Mandarin form.

A-not-A question open-in-new

A-not-A question