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Linglib.Fragments.German.QuestionParticles

German Question Particles #

@cite{theiler-2021} @cite{zheng-2025}

Lexical entries for German interrogative/flavoring particles. The fragment commits only to theory-neutral lexical primitives; the left-peripheral layer assignment lives in Phenomena.Questions.Studies.Theiler2021 (denn) and Phenomena.Questions.Studies.SeeligerRepp2018 (doch wohl).

Particles #

ParticleGlossBias
dennhighlighting-sensitive flavoring particle+evidential
doch wohlnon-compositional RQ marker+evidential, +epistemic

German denn parallels Mandarin nandao: both require contextual evidence prompting the question. Key difference: denn is compatible with wh-questions, while nandao is restricted to polar questions.

@cite{theiler-2021} analyzes denn as highlighting-sensitive: it signals that the question is prompted by the highlighted/salient proposition in context. In polar questions, this creates an evidential requirement; in wh-questions, it merely signals informational need.

Cross-Module Connections #

source
structure Fragments.German.QuestionParticles.QParticleEntry :
Type

A German interrogative/flavoring particle entry.

  • form : String
  • gloss : String
  • polarOk : Bool
  • declOk : Bool
  • whOk : Bool
  • requiresEvidentialBias : Bool
  • requiresEpistemicBias : Bool
Instances For
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    def Fragments.German.QuestionParticles.instReprQParticleEntry.repr :
    QParticleEntry → Nat → Std.Format
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    Instances For
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      @[implicit_reducible]
      instance Fragments.German.QuestionParticles.instReprQParticleEntry :
      Repr QParticleEntry
      Equations
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      @[implicit_reducible]
      instance Fragments.German.QuestionParticles.instDecidableEqQParticleEntry :
      DecidableEq QParticleEntry
      Equations
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      def Fragments.German.QuestionParticles.instDecidableEqQParticleEntry.decEq (x✝ x✝¹ : QParticleEntry) :
      Decidable (x✝ = x✝¹)
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        def Fragments.German.QuestionParticles.denn :
        QParticleEntry

        denn — highlighting-sensitive flavoring particle. Signals the question is prompted by salient contextual evidence. Compatible with both polar and wh-questions (unlike nandao).

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          def Fragments.German.QuestionParticles.dochWohl :
          QParticleEntry

          doch wohl — non-compositional rejecting question marker.

          @cite{seeliger-repp-2018} SS 4.2: doch and wohl are both modal particles but their combination in RQs does not receive a compositional interpretation. Instead, doch wohl is a conventionalized marker that signals the speech act is a rejecting question (RQ).

          In isolation:

          • doch has a "conflict" meaning: signals a contrast between the proposition and the context (reminding / realizing the obvious)
          • wohl has a question-inducing function + reportative meaning shade: weakens the speaker's commitment to the proposition

          In RQs, doch wohl is obligatory — both particles are required to mark a declarative as a RQ. The combination enters syntactic Agree with the illocutionary operator REJECTQ.

          @cite{seeliger-repp-2018} SS 4.3: the formal means employed to mark RQs are cues for the speech act, not compositional building blocks.

          Cross-linguistically, doch wohl parallels Swedish fronted negation + väl, but the marking strategies are not the same across the two languages.

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          Instances For
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            def Fragments.German.QuestionParticles.allQuestionParticles :
            List QParticleEntry
            Equations
            Instances For
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              theorem Fragments.German.QuestionParticles.denn_evidential :
              denn.requiresEvidentialBias = true
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              theorem Fragments.German.QuestionParticles.denn_no_epistemic :
              denn.requiresEpistemicBias = false
              source
              theorem Fragments.German.QuestionParticles.denn_wh_ok :
              denn.whOk = true

              Unlike Mandarin nandao, German denn is compatible with wh-questions (@cite{theiler-2021} §3).

              source
              theorem Fragments.German.QuestionParticles.dochWohl_form :
              dochWohl.form = "doch wohl"
              source
              theorem Fragments.German.QuestionParticles.dochWohl_evidential :
              dochWohl.requiresEvidentialBias = true
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              theorem Fragments.German.QuestionParticles.dochWohl_epistemic :
              dochWohl.requiresEpistemicBias = true
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              theorem Fragments.German.QuestionParticles.dochWohl_not_assertion :
              dochWohl.declOk = false
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              theorem Fragments.German.QuestionParticles.dochWohl_not_wh :
              dochWohl.whOk = false
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              theorem Fragments.German.QuestionParticles.dochWohl_stricter_than_denn :
              dochWohl.requiresEvidentialBias = true ∧ dochWohl.requiresEpistemicBias = true ∧ denn.requiresEpistemicBias = false

              doch wohl requires BOTH evidential and epistemic bias, unlike denn which only requires evidential. This reflects the "insisting" nature of RQs vs. the merely "highlighting" nature of denn-questions.