In linguistics, an echo answer or echo response is a way of answering a polar question without using words for yes and no. The verb used in the question is simply echoed in the answer, negated if the answer has a negative truth-value. For examples:

• "Did you go to the cinema?" (or "Didn't you go to the cinema?")
• "I did not."

The Finnish language is one language that employs echo answers in response to yes-no questions. It does not answer them with either adverbs or interjections. So the answer to "Tuletteko kaupungista?" ("Are you coming from town?") is the verb form itself, "Tulemme." ("We are coming."). Negatively-phrased questions are answered similarly. Negative answers are just the negated verb form. So the answer to "Tunnetteko herra Lehdon?" ("Do you know Mr Lehto?") is "En tunne" ("I don't know.") or simply "En" ("I dont.").

The Welsh language also primarily employs echo answers, its words for "yes" and "no" ("ie" and "nage") being restricted to specialized circumstances. Like Finnish, the main way in Welsh to state yes or no, in answer to yes-no questions, is to echo the verb of the question. So the answers to "Ydy Fred yn dod?" ("Is Fred coming?") are either "Ydy" ("He is coming.") or "Nag ydy" ("He is not coming."). In general, the negative answer is the positive answer combined with "nag". As in Finnish, this avoids the issue of what an unadorned "yes" means in response to a negative question. Whilst a "yes" response to the question "You don't beat your wife?" is ambiguous in English, the Welsh response "ydw" has no ambiguity.

Latin, which has no single words for "yes" and "no", also employs echo answers. For example:

• Nōnne Doofus molestus discipulus est?

  "Doofus is an annoying student, isn't he?"

• Est.

  "He is."

• Num Doofus litterās memoriā tenēre potest?

  "Doofus cannot remember the alphabet, can he?"

• Nōn potest.

  "He cannot."

The Portuguese language is the only major Romance Language to regularly make use of echo answers. In spite of having words for "yes" and "no" proper (sim and não respectively.), Portuguese will most commonly answer a polar question in the affirmative by repeating the main verb. For example, one would answer the question, "Tens fome?" ("Are you hungry?" or transliterated as "Do you have hunger?") by simply replying, "Tenho." ("(I) have"). One could also add sim before the verb for the use of emphasis, or to contradict a negative question; producing "Sim, tenho." In order to produce a negative answer to a polar question, you repeat the verb and must also add não before it. Thus, a negative answer to our above question would be: "Não tenho.", or "Não tenho fome.", or for emphasis one could even say, "Não tenho, não."

Matching Results for Echo Answer:

answer back
Jan 31, 2011 ... Please answer me back before the end of the week. (computing) To issue echo characters, protocol responses, reflexive connection requests, ...

reply
(intransitive) To repeat something back; to echo . ... e e a a ja(ja) (a a a a a a , henshin-surA ), ( answer ) c a a ja(ja) (a a a a , kotaeru); Kurdish: ...

scrabble
But there came no answer , except the echo of my own voice sounding hollow and far off down in the vault. So in despair I turned back to the earth wall below ...

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