GASPRO International Journal of Eminent Scholars

ABSTRACT

This paper described polar questions in Gokana within a formal linguistic framework. The paper found that two types of polar questions are attested in the language, yes/no questions and alternative questions. The study identified two types of yes/no questions, the gé yes/no question and the ékọọ … (sẹ) yes/no question in the grammar of Gokana. The paper showed that the alternative question must contain at least two alternative clauses and noted that the alternative question marker has a discontinuous structure in which the first part is optional while the second part is obligatory. The study found that the markers of both question types are similar but they perform different grammatical functions and also have different morphosyntactic behaviour. The paper argued that yes/no questions are variants of the alternative question, and showed that it is possible to extract a yes/no question from the structure of an alternative question in Gokana syntax. The study recommended an investigation of the phonological features of question formation in Gokana.

KEYWORDS: Gokana, Polar Questions, Clauses, Structure, Syntax.