Variability in English Yes/No Questions: A Study of Communicative Functions

This paper investigates variability in the production of English yes/no questions. It, further, probes the role of communicative functions in the construction of such variants by Canadian English native speakers as well as the role of gender in the use of such communicative functions. For this purpo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Procedia, social and behavioral sciences social and behavioral sciences, 2013-01, Vol.70, p.1664-1670
Main Authors: Darani, Laya Heidari, Afghari, Akbar
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Communicative functions
Gender
Variability
Variationist Sociolinguistics
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Summary:This paper investigates variability in the production of English yes/no questions. It, further, probes the role of communicative functions in the construction of such variants by Canadian English native speakers as well as the role of gender in the use of such communicative functions. For this purpose, thirty Canadian English native speakers performed the Edinburgh Map Task and made English yes/no question variants considering the context and functions of the questions. The data were subject to Chi-square and correlational analyses. Based on the results, variability was observed in English yes/no questions. Moreover, particular English yes/no question variants were associated with particular communicative functions. In the usage of the communicative functions, Canadian English males and females showed different linguistic behavior. Regarding the correlation between gender and communicative functions, it was indicated that the use of communicative functions in the construction of yes/no question variants was not gender-based.
ISSN:1877-0428
1877-0428
DOI:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.01.238