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3.4.14.3.3.
 

  

Information-Confirming Yes-No Interrogation
     Information-Confirming interrogation is marked by -do which is a truncated form of the response-eliciting free form odo ‘isn’t that so’, the negative being formed predictably by mo-do. An affirmative and a negative information-confirming interrogative assumes or expects the answer to be negative.
 

291

1.  izho1 mani2 -do3
  today1 (is) (a) rest-day2 , isn’t it ?3
 
  izho1 mani2 mo3 -do4
  today1 (is) not3 (a) rest-day2 , is it?4
 
 

2.

  dn bsko1 -li2 -do3
  in2 Don Bosco1 , isn’t it ?3
 
  dn bsko1-li2 mo3 -do 4
 

not3 in2 Don Bosco1 , is it ?4
 
 

3.

  pfo-hi1 khi vu2 le3 -do4
  he1 will3 come back2 , won’t he ?4
 
  pfo-hi1 khi vu2 le3 mo4 -do5
  he1 will3 not4 come back2 , will he ?5
 
 

4.a.

ni1 idu2 mikrüli3 lo4 -do5
    you (sg.)1 went down4 to Imphal3 yesterday2 , didn’t you ?5
 
 

b.

  ni1 idu2 mikrüli3 lo4 mo5 -do6
    you (sg.)1 did4 not5 go down4 to Imphal3 yesterday2 , did you ?6
 
 

5.a.

  besü1 bu2 -do3
  Besü1 is there2, isn’t he ?3
 
 

b.

besü1 bu2 mo3 -do4
  Besü1 is2 not3 there2 , is he ?4
 
 

6.a.

  lopüihi1 ni2 cümüi3 -do4
  she1 (is) your1 (sg.) wife3 , isn’t she ?4
 
 

b.

  lopüihi1 ni cümüi 3 mo4 -do5
  she1 (is) not4 your2 wife3, is she ?5
 
 

7.a.

  pfo-hi1 imemüi2 -ko0 -do3
  he1 (is) (a) Mao2 , isn’t he ?3
 
 

b.

  pfo-hi1 imemüi2 mo3 -do4
  he1 (is) not3 (a) Mao2 , is he ?4
 
 

8a.

  ni1 ayi2 akuo3 vu4 le5 -do6
  you (sg.)1 will5 come4 with3 me2 , won’t you ?6
 
 

b.

  ni1 ayi2 akuo3 vu 4 le5 mo6 -do 7
  you (sg.)1 will5 not6 come4 with3 me2 , will you ?7
 
 

9.

  sodu1 shuţţi2 -do3
  tomorrow1 (is) (a) holiday2, isn’t it ?3
 
  sodu1 shuţţi2 mo3 -do 4
  tomorrow1 (is) not3 (a) holiday2 , is it ?4
 

 

 10.  pfo1 zhu2 ashiko3 -do4
  his1 name2 (is) Ashikho3 , isn’t it4
 
  pfo1 zhu2 ashikho3 mo4 -do5
  his1 name2 (is) not4 Ashikho3 , is it ?5

     When the proposition is somehow feared or felt to be true, mo-mo-do and -mo(tense) -mo-mo-do mark the affirmative and negative information-confirming yes-no interrogations respectively :
 

292

a.  ni1 ta2 le3 -mo-mo-do4
    (I’m afraid yo will go)4 will3 you (sg.)1 go2 ?
     

 

 b.  ni1 ta2 mo3 le4 mo-mo-mo-do5
    (I’m afraid you will not go)5 will4 you1 not3 go2 ?

     It could be argued that the utterances which end with do and mo-do are not quite questions perhaps because the tag question which is their English translational equivalent makes one think so. A simple piece of evidence points to the incorrectness of this argument. There is a contrast between, for instance, to the incorrectness of this argument. There is a contrast between, for instance,
 

293  

a. ashuli1 ocü2 he3 bu-e4 odo5
and  b.  ashuli1 ocü2 he3 bu4 -do5
     
    Although both translate into English as
    Ahuli1 is4 at3 home2 , isn’t he ?5


the latter is a single sentence while the former constitutes two sentences, as only the former has the sentence-marker -e suffixed to the verb bu ‘be’, marking the sentence boundary before odo. As a result, the latter is direct while the former has an indirectness made for by a sequence of sentences. In fact in the former, odo marks confirmation for the listener’s consumption as the sentence going before it could be uttered only if the speaker has seen Ashuli at home or is otherwise absolutely sure whereas in the former case he has not seen Ashuli at home, but his question is triggered only by the some presumptive evidence, and the confirmation sought is for the speaker’s own consumption.

 
 

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