COMPARATIVE FORMATION IN DISYLLABIC ADJECTIVES ENDING IN /ɪ/

Abstract

The system of comparative and superlative formation in English relies on both synthetic (i.e. inflectional) and analytic (i.e. periphrastic) means. Numerous studies have aimed at analyzing the impact of the final -y in choosing a comparison strategy. Their main focus is on testing the potential impact of a wide repertoire of the linguistic factors that were assumed to be relevant in making such choices, but their samples were relatively limited in terms of specific groups of adjectives, such as those ending in -y. (e.g. LEECH, CULPEPER 1997; LINDQUIST 2000; MONDORF 2009; GONZALEZ-DIAZ 2009). About 20 to 30 adjectives were subjected to the various analyses, leaving most members bearing this feature excluded. This paper aims at revisiting comparative formation strategies in disyllabic adjectives ending in // and does so by analyzing the prevalence of both comparison strategies in 277 different lexemes. Drawing on techniques familiar from quantitative morphological typology (GREENBERG 1960; SZMRECSANYI 2012, 2016), the analysis uses syntheticity and analyticity indices as the main indicators of frequency of both free (more) and bound (-er) comparative morphemes. The quantitative data are retrieved from Corpus of Contemporary American English. The results demonstrate that disyllabic adjectives ending in /ɪ/ are not a uniform class. The attributed feature of being inclined toward synthetic comparison does not apply to all members of this class or at least not to the expected level.