Btukfyl

I am looking for a word meaning "a person who asks many questions", with positive connotations (one who is curious about things, which is good). Preferably a noun.

The word preferably should be unambiguous and clear to non-native speakers; preferably a bit humorous, and clearly saying that this person has good qualities, such as curious and eager to learn.

I know such words in other languages: Russian почемучка "a curious child who wants to learn all things and asks his parents many questions" (positive), Spanish preguntón "questioner" (I think neutral).

Context: At a conference, we give several awards. In the audience, there is always somebody who asks questions at all presentations, which is good and shows his/her active involvement and attention. We want to encourage this behavior by giving an award. All other awards are called with nouns:

• Best paper


• Best poster


• Best presentation

so we want to have an award in line with this, like:

• Best why-boy


• Best questioner


• Best inquisitive mind

The award is in a way humorous, so "why-boy / why-girl" would be adequate (if I get right that it has positive connotations), but having the word gender-dependent is not convenient. "Questioner" does not seem to have too positive connotations (and is not humorous enough). Then "inquisitive mind" seems to be the best option, but it is too long and not quite correct ("best mind"? "most inquisitive"?).

This is also why I need a word that is unambiguous (to avoid misunderstanding!) and easy to understand by non-native speakers: most of the attendees of the conference are non-native speakers, so a too fancy word can confuse them more than encourage.

I would say: Most inquisitive:

Merriam-Webster:

1 : given to examination or investigation

2 : inclined to ask questions, especially : inordinately or improperly curious about the affairs of others

Cambridge Dictionary

wanting to discover as much as you can about things, sometimes in a way that annoys people

Someone who is inquisitive asks a lot of questions and is genuinely curious about things. They might take it a little too far, but it's a very weak negative connotation and one that doesn't really apply when you're in any context related to learning.

Particularly within academia, being inquisitive would be considered a badge of honor:

It's partly because humans are naturally inquisitive and exploratory but also, and more significant, because we need the unknown, what historians of religion call "otherness," to lend our lives significance.

— David Nicholson-Lord, Nation, 6 Oct. 1997

Inquisitive really only has a negative connotation when used to describe someone inquisitive about something that isn't their business, for example, inquisitive neighbors:

an inquisitive woman who tends to everybody's business but her own

And, while it shares a root with "inquisitor", "inquisitive" doesn't share any of that word's negative connotations.

I would recommend
Inquirer .

According to Cambridge Dictionary
(https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/inquirer?q=Inquirer+):

INQUIRER

​
someone
who asks about something

Synonym -
questioner

How about this:

Most curious ?

I would steal from the StackExchange platform. We give good question askers 3 badges:

• Curious


• Inquisitive


• Socratic

The last here being somewhat of a joke. Socrates is known as a philosopher for posing difficult "Socratic questions" to people.

As such, if you're intending this to be somewhat humorous, you could also use the term for your award and call it "Most Socratic":

Of or pertaining to, characteristic of, Socrates the Athenian philosopher, or his philosophy, methods, character, etc.

You can try:

Best gumshoe

A gumshoe is an informal expression for a detective.¹ A detective is someone who investigates (although usually to solve a crime).²

Best wonderer

A bit more whimsical, but a wonderer is someone who is curious about things.³

<sub>1. Oxford Living Dictionaries

2. Oxford Living Dictionaries

3. ✔ocabulary.com</sub>

You could use "inquisitor".

a person making an inquiry, especially one seen to be excessively harsh or searching.

It does conjur up images (to me at least) of the Spanish Inquisition but if you are looking for a slightly tongue in cheek term it could fit the bill.