How Mandarin Answers Questions Without "Yes" or "No"
Please note this event occurred in the past.
April 23, 2026 4:00 pm - 5:15 pm ET
Herter Hall rm. 206
Dr. Haiyong Liu, Professor of Chinese Linguistics and Director of the Linguistics Program at Wayne State University
Have you ever wondered how languages work when they don’t use words like yes or no? In this talk, you’ll learn how Mandarin Chinese and many other languages answer yes–no questions in a completely different way—by repeating parts of the verb instead of using particles.
The talk will also explore:
- How this pattern appears across many languages
- Why AI systems still struggle with it
- How language structure and meaning interact
This is a great opportunity if you’re interested in linguistics, language diversity, or how AI processes human language. No specialized background is required.
We hope to see you there!