Stylistics of rhetorical questions
Answers are for parents and teachers.
1
Make three rhetorical questions (two with affirmative, one with negative meaning) and turn them into declarative sentences.
For example: «Ona tilini kim sevmaydi?!» → «Ona tilini hamma sevadi.» (Everyone loves their mother tongue.); «Mehnatsiz non bo‘ladimi?!» → «Mehnatsiz non bo‘lmaydi.» (There is no bread without labour.); «Buni kim ham bilardi?» → «Buni hech kim bilmasdi.» (Nobody knew this.)
2
Give one example each of a genuine and a rhetorical question and write the difference.
Genuine: «Kutubxona soat nechada ochiladi?» (“What time does the library open?”) Rhetorical: «Kitobsiz bilim bo‘ladimi?!» (“Can there be knowledge without books?!”)
3
Write a 3-sentence paragraph in the publicistic style beginning with a rhetorical question.
For example: «Toza havoni kim xohlamaydi? Ammo uni asrash hammaning vazifasi. Keling, bog‘lar ko‘paytiraylik.» (“Who does not want clean air? But protecting it is everyone’s duty. Let us plant more gardens.”)
4
Why are rhetorical questions rare in a scientific article? Write 2–3 sentences.
Scientific statement must be objective and exact; a rhetorical question serves feeling and effect and does not replace proof.