Journal | Balcania et Slavia
Monographic journal issue | 4 | 1 | 2024
Research Article | The Discursive Functions of zar-Questions in Macedonian and Serbian
The Discursive Functions of zar-Questions in Macedonian and Serbian
Abstract
This paper explores polar questions introduced by the particle zar in standard Macedonian and Serbian. The pragmatic-discourse properties of zar-questions, despite being a distinct type, remain understudied. The paper aims to establish the functional distribution and the pragmatic properties of these questions by analyzing examples from literary prose. The identified three discourse types exhibit striking similarity in both languages, which suggests a convergent functional development of zar. It also shows that zar functions as a modal operator of assertiveness rather than a typical interrogative particle.
Submitted: June 8, 2024 | Published Dec. 12, 2024 | Language: en
Keywords Rhetorical questions • Particle • Assertiveness • Biased questions
Copyright © 2024 Liljana Mitkovska, Eleni Bužarovska. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/BES/2785-3187/2024/01/003
