<p>"Dog."
"Dog!"
"Dog?"
We know the first is a statement. The second a warning maybe. And the third a question.</p>

<p>Like facial expressions for emotions. Are there universal human facial expressions or voice modulations that show when we are asking a question? Or naming something. Or giving a warning. I imagine being able to distinguish these 3 things would be quite important for our ape-like ancestors.</p>

<p>In fact, do we share these with apes? When we try and teach apes words do we use things like pointing and intonation? Can they understand this?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-23T18:21:58.247Z
The existence of universal facial and vocal expressions for emotions is highly controversial.  The likelihood of a universal facial or vocal expression for asking questions is even less likely I'd imagine.
mrt
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-23T23:24:43.107Z
You started asking about facial expressions then added voice modulations which is a different kind of language cue.  Voice modulation patterns can vary with different languages and cultures, and I am not sure but I believe the same applies to facial expressions.
Chris Rogers
<emotion><language>
Are there universal facial expressions for asking questions?
zooby
# Are there universal facial expressions for asking questions?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-04-23)

"Dog."
"Dog!"
"Dog?"
We know the first is a statement. The second a warning maybe. And the third a question.

Like facial expressions for emotions. Are there universal human facial expressions or voice modulations that show when we are asking a question? Or naming something. Or giving a warning. I imagine being able to distinguish these 3 things would be quite important for our ape-like ancestors.

In fact, do we share these with apes? When we try and teach apes words do we use things like pointing and intonation? Can they understand this?

**Tags:** emotion, language

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: The existence of universal facial and vocal expressions for emotions is highly controversial.  The likelihood of a universal facial or vocal expression for asking questions is even less likely I'd imagine.  
> **username_2**: You started asking about facial expressions then added voice modulations which is a different kind of language cue.  Voice modulation patterns can vary with different languages and cultures, and I am not sure but I believe the same applies to facial expressions.  

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## 0 answers

