Rhetorical question
 | This article possibly contains original research. (October 2007) |
A rhetorical question is a figure of speech in the form of a question posed for rhetorical effect rather than to receive an answer.[1] Rhetorical questions encourage the listener to reflect on what the implied answer to the question must be. When a speaker states, "How much longer must our people endure this injustice?" or "Do you really think I want to have a Star Trek themed wedding?", or "How many times do I have to tell you to stop walking into the house with mud on your shoes?"; no formal answer is expected. Rather, it is a device used by the speaker to assert or deny something. Some prescriptivists consider rhetorical questions to be "grammatical errors" when used formally.[2]
As many other expressions these questions may vary in significance from one language to another or even from one version of a language to another due to the peculiar idioms of the language or dialect. For example commonly used rhetorical questions of American slang may be sometimes confusing to people who may be fluent in English but unfamiliar with the localized meaning and who may attempt to answer the rhetorical question in an argument.[3] Likewise, an American English speaker may be confused if asked "Are you coming the raw prawn?" which in Australian English has the same meaning as the rhetorical question: "Are you pulling my leg?", which might confuse someone unfamiliar with the phrase. Both of these are rhetorical questions that are actually a form of epiplexis (a specific kind of rhetorical question) used to mean "Are you kidding me?" Another recently common English-based Rhetorical question is the Instant Messaging abbreviation "lol?". Note the question mark which lets the IM recipient interpret the "lol" as rhetorical. This phrase often appears in Instant Messaging conversations in order to display blatant confusion with hints of sarcastic humor.[4]
Punctuation
A rhetorical question usually ends in a question mark (?), but occasionally may end with an exclamation mark (!) or even a full stop (.) according to some writing style guides.[citation needed] For example:
- "What's the point of going on."
- "Isn't that ironic!"
In the 1580s, English printer Henry Denham invented a "rhetorical question mark" for use at the end of a rhetorical question; however, it died out of use in the 1600s. It was the reverse of an ordinary question mark, so that instead of the main opening pointing back into the sentence, it opened away from it.[5]
Some have adapted the question mark into various irony marks, but these are very rarely seen.
Rhetorical Affirmation
A rhetorical question that intends the communication of "yes, of course".
Examples:
- Is the Pope Catholic?
- Is the sky blue?
- Is the ocean salty?
- Is the sun hot?
- Does a bear live in the woods?
- Is the atomic weight of Cobalt 58.9? (from Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters II)
See also
Notes
- ^ Gideon O. Burton, Brigham Young University. ""Rhetorical Questions"". specialized language definitions. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
{{cite web}}: Check|authorlink=value (help); External link in|authorlink= - ^ Paul Brians, Washington State University. ""Common Errors in English"". Grammatical Errors in the English Language. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
{{cite web}}: Check|authorlink=value (help); External link in|authorlink= - ^ Roger Kruez, Aaron Ashley, and Kathryn Bartlett, University of Memphis. ""Twisting Arms: Figurative Language Effects in Persuasive Discourse"" (PDF). psychology research paper. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
{{cite web}}: Check|authorlink=value (help); External link in|authorlink= - ^ Gideon O. Burton, Brigham Young University. ""Epiplexis"". specialized language definitions. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
{{cite web}}: Check|authorlink=value (help); External link in|authorlink= - ^ Truss, Lynne. Eats, Shoots & Leaves, 2003. p. 142. ISBN 1-592-40087-6.