Questioning Facial Expressions

Signers of American Sign Language use three different facial expressions when asking three different types of questions. The three types of questions are as follows:

wh-questions

yes/no questions

rhetorical questions

The formal term for yes/no questions is polar questions, while wh-questions are referred to as non-polar questions. Yes/No questions are questions that ask for a response of yes or no. Wh-questions seek further information beyond just a simple yes or no response, usually but not always by using one of the following ASL question words:

who
what
when
where
why
which
how
reason
for-for

Unlike in English where rhetorical questions refer to questions asked to argue a point, the rhetorical questions referred to here are used in ASL as a grammatical structure in declarative sentences. Although there is a sign for the word "because" in ASL, these rhetorical questions are often used in place of signing the word "because". This is because the following structure tends to be clearer in ASL.

Example of rhetorical question:

English: I'm going to the store because I need milk.
ASL: Store, I go, why? milk, I need.

Using question signs like "why?", "reason?", and "for-for?" in place of signing "because" is not the only use of rhetorical questions. They can be used with any of the wh-question words listed above, as shown in the following examples:

English: His name is Zedekiah.
ASL: His name, what? Zedekiah.

English: I went to Colorado by submarine.
ASL: Colorado, I finish go, how? submarine.

English: My monster truck is the red one.
ASL: My monster truck, which? red truck.

Each of these three types of questions has its own distinct facial expression in ASL:

wh-questions	yes/no questions	rhetorical questions
Head titled forward	Head titled forward	Head titled slightly back and to the side
Eyebrows furrowed	Eyebrows raised	Eyebrows raised

Fortunately, these three different facial expressions are mostly natural or non-manual behavior, meaning people tend to make these facial expressions naturally when asking questions. It is important, however, to know the differences between the three questioning expressions to correctly interpret and use them when conversing in ASL.

Note that each of the three questioning expressions shares one physical feature with one of the other expressions:

wh-questions	yes/no questions	rhetorical questions
Head titled forward	Head titled forward	Head titled slightly back and to the side
Eyebrows furrowed	Eyebrows raised	Eyebrows raised

Lastly, note that the rhetorical questioning facial expression is the same facial expression used when signing a topic when using topic-comment structure in ASL.