The Grammar of Russian Metalinguistic Comparatives

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe paper studies Russian metalinguistic comparatives. Specifically, it argues that Russian exhibits three single meta-comparatives (skoree ‘sooner’, bol′še ‘more’, and lučše ‘better’, lit.), which are derived as a result of grammaticalisation of corresponding standard comparatives and three double meta-comparatives (skoree bol′še, bol′še skoree, and skoree lučše). From a morphological and syntactic point of view, these meta-comparatives are quite distinct from standard comparatives. Unlike standard comparatives, they have only synthetic forms, are ungrammatical with Genitive and show prosodic restrictions and linearly syntactic preferences. Moreover, the meta-comparatives are divided into two major groups: skoree, bol′še, skoree bol′še, bol′še skoree vs. lučše, skoree lučše. Each of these two groups imposes specific restrictions on a syntactic category and/or grammatical form of the two compared phrases. Last but not least, due to a relatively free combination of skoree with other single meta-comparatives, which results in double meta-comparatives, the paper reveals that skoree is the most grammaticalised meta-comparative in Russian.Abbreviations: ACC — Accusative, COND — Conditional, FUT — Future, GEN — Genitive, CVB — Converb, IMP — Imperative, INF — Infinitive, INS — Instrumental, LOC — Locative, NOM — Nominative, NEG — Negation, NMLZ — Nominalization, PL – Plural, PRS — Present, PST — Past, REFL — Reflexive, SUBJ — Subjunctive, SG – Singular.