1.2. Interrogatives
Interrogative sentences, as well as declaratives [SYNTAX 1.1], imperatives [SYNTAX 1.3] and exclamatives [SYNTAX 1.4], are one of the four recognized sentences types in LSC. Signers of LSC utter an interrogative sentence to elicit information from the addressee. The function of an interrogative sentence is, thus, different from that of a declarative sentence: while a declarative sentence provides information, an interrogative sentence asks for information.
As any other language, LSC has developed grammaticalized forms that are associated with interrogation. Non-manual markers, in this sense, play an important role in LSC interrogatives. Indeed, most of the times, non-manual markers are the only formal difference between a declarative and an interrogative sentence in LSC.
LSC distinguishes three major types of interrogatives: polar interrogatives [SYNTAX 1.2.1], alternative interrogatives [SYNTAX 1.2.2] and content interrogatives [SYNTAX 1.2.3]. LSC can also use rhetorical questions, also known as self-questions or Question-Answer clauses. This peculiar construction has two components: a question and its answer, which immediately follows it. Rhetorical questions are used in LSC for introducing and highlighting new information into the discourse.
The following section contains more detailed information on interrogatives in LSC, focusing on the specific forms the language uses for marking different classes of this sentence type.