From cbmvax!uunet!grebyn!lojbab Wed Jun 10 16:37:39 1992 Return-Path: Received: by snark.thyrsus.com (/\==/\ Smail3.1.21.1 #21.19) id ; Wed, 10 Jun 92 16:37 EDT Received: by cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com (5.57/UUCP-Project/Commodore 2/8/91) id AA00735; Wed, 10 Jun 92 16:23:54 EDT Received: from uunet.uu.net (via LOCALHOST.UU.NET) by relay2.UU.NET with SMTP (5.61/UUNET-internet-primary) id AA02671; Wed, 10 Jun 92 15:37:27 -0400 Received: from grebyn.UUCP by uunet.uu.net with UUCP/RMAIL (queueing-rmail) id 153641.20705; Wed, 10 Jun 1992 15:36:41 EDT Received: by grebyn.com (5.57/smail2.3/07-01-87) id AA06650; Wed, 10 Jun 92 15:19:17 -0400 Received: by daily.grebyn.com (5.57/UUCP-Project/02.16.86-kan-10.20.91) id AA00538; Wed, 10 Jun 92 15:19:46 -0400 Date: Wed, 10 Jun 92 15:19:46 -0400 From: cbmvax!uunet!grebyn.com!lojbab (Logical Language Group) Message-Id: <9206101919.AA00538@daily.grebyn.com> To: cbmvax!snark.thyrsus.com!cowan Subject: Re: More Wind from the North Cc: cowan@snark.thyrsus.com, iad@cogsci.edinburgh.ac.uk Status: RO X-Status: With Russian, indirect questions seem to be indicated by using a postfix cmavo (li) on the word that is 'questioned' (which is also usually brought to the front of the clause). My understanding thus far (but I'm not that far along, so we'll make sure Ivan can correct me) is that "li" is a remnant of an old interrogative which appears to work just like "xu". When a statement has question inflection, though, it no longer needs "li" to be a 'xu'-like interrogative (and indeed, my textbook says that to do so is now non-standard), and in statement inflection, a subordinate clause without a question word is marked as an indirect question. (If there is a question word, then there is no need for the marker, and Russian is more like English and the other languages you mentioned. OK Ivan - tell me what I've got wrong %^) lojbab