The sentence-initial polar question particle as evidence of disjunction

Using particles or verb morphology to denote polar interrogatives is the most common means of forming these structures in the world’s languages (Dryer 2013). Studies on polar question particles have revealed a link between yes/no questions and disjunction structures. In addition to the semantic aspect, a syntactic link has been suggested (Katz&Postal 1964). For instance, in many languages the sentence-final polar question particles seem to be the same as disjunction particles, creating the hypothesis that perhaps they are disjunction particles with the other disjunct cut off (Bailey 2007). This study will further explore the link between polarity and disjunction. It will show that in Estonian, in addition to the sentence-final particle, the sentence-initial question particle matches a disjunction particle as well, providing evidence for the hypothesis of a close link between these two categories.