Polarity‑based vs. truth‑based answer systems (Pope 1976; Wang & Thompson 1991)
Polarity‑based languages (English, French, German): the particle yes/no agrees with the polarity of the answer you’re about to give.
*“Yes, I do.” (positive answer to a negative question)
*“No, I don’t.” (negative answer to a negative question)
Truth‑based languages (Mandarin, Japanese, Thai): the particle (or in Mandarin often a bare 不/不是) agrees with the truth value of the preceding statement.
If the question’s negative statement is false, you first negate it: 不 → “That’s not correct.”