Comparative Constructions

Abstract

In semantic or cognitive terms, comparison can be defined as a mental act by which two objects are assigned a position on a predicative scale. Should this position be the same for both objects, then we have a case of the comparison of equality. If the positions on the scale are different, then we speak of the comparison of inequality. In both cases, however, the notion essentially involves three things: a predicative scale, which, in language, is usually encoded as a gradable predicate, and two objects. Although these objects can, in principle, be complex, the practice of typological linguistic research has been to restrict them to primary objects, which are typically encoded in the form of noun phrases. Thus, a comparative construction typically contains a predicate and two noun phrases, one of which is the object of comparison (the comparee NP), while the other functions as the ‘yard-stick’ of the comparison (the standard NP).