Why not periods? Why doesn’t every sentence in Spanish that isn’t a question or exclamation start with a period floating in the sky?

  • usualsuspect191
    10·
    8 months ago

    Scrambling to lift your voice into a question you’ve been reading as a statement until you see the question mark at the end is awkward

    I’d argue this is exactly why it’s not necessary on English; what makes it a question tends to be the inflection at the very end so no real need for a warning way at the beginning.

    • wjrii@lemmy.worldEnglish
      7·
      8 months ago

      Also, while English certainly can form questions that are identical to statements (“They fly now?” “They fly now.”), it’s not necessary or even the most common way. More of the burden for clear communication can be left to the writer.