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Abstract This paper mainly discusses the formation and construal mechanism of the negative meaning of the where-rhetorical questions. It argues that where-rhetorical questions usually appear in the abnormal context. Speakers use the rhetorical question to intentionally doubt the abnormal situation. Under the guidance of the principles of doubt (“doubting yes and believing no” and “doubting positive and believing negative”)， the negative meaning emerges. Furthermore， the identification and understanding of rhetorical questions can be regarded as a communication process of “ostensive-inferential”. According to the clues of context， common sense， and the accent tone and facial expressions of the speakers， listeners can identify where-rhetorical questions and understand their significance by pragmatic inferences based on the argumentative characteristics of rhetorical questions and the pragmatic principles.
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Received: 21 January 2019
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2019, Vol. 58 
