I could be wrong here, but it seems to me that a common aspect amongst all languages is the tendency to raise the pitch of your voice slightly when asking a question. Especially at the end of a question sentence.

If I’m wrong about this raised pitch being common amongst all languages, at the very least do all languages change their tone slightly to indicate that a question is being asked?

I guess there needs to be some way to indicate what is and isn’t a question. Perhaps a higher pitched voice reflects uncertainty. Is this something deep rooted in humans, or just an arbitrary choice when language developed?

  • otp@sh.itjust.works
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    29 days ago

    But the default stress towards the end of the question is what makes it a question.

    You can move the stress to another word for emphasis on yes-no questions, too, similarly removing the “rising intonation” that makes a question.

    E.g., “Do you want any cheese^?” vs. “Do you WANT any cheese?” (Falling intonation after “want”)