试论“不是……吗”反问句的疑问用法

On the Interrogative Usage of Rhetorical Questions With "BUSHI……MA"

在梳理已有关于反问句研究成果分歧的基础上,提出了判断反问句是否表示疑问的标准,并提出了"不是……吗"反问句表示疑问的条件:句子中的命题一般是预期信息,说话时出现了新信息,而且新信息是反预期信息,说话人希望了解为什么或怎么会出现这个反预期信息。针对实际情况与预期的多种关系,问句有多种应答方式。

First, on the basis of an analysis of the differences about the studies of rhetorical questions, this paper proposes the standards for judging whether a rhetorical question is interrogative or not. Next, the paper discusses the various conditions un- der which rhetorical questions containing ＂BUSHI MA＂ express interrogative meaning： the proposition in the sentence is gen- erally an expected message, and a new one appears when people communicate, but the new message is contrary to the expected one. In the meantime the speaker wonders why or how this unexpected message has turned up. In the light of actual situations and various relations of expectations, such interrogative sentences have different ways to answer or respond.