This paper investigates the contribution of lexical spreads (or type counts) of English comparativemoreand -erconstructions to an understanding of comparative alternation in the$y$-adjectives, that is adjectives ending in an orthographic${<}\text{y}>$and an /i/ sound, e.g.lazy. Comparative$y$-adjective constructions from seven corpora of stage plays spanning from the 17th to the 20th century were analysed with mixed-effects modelling and correlations drawn between the comparatives of$y$-adjectives and those of other adjectives. The findings indicate that while morphological complexity in$y$-adjectives biases them towardsmore,moreoccurrences with$y$-adjectives may also be related to the lexical spread ofmorein disyllabic adjectives that are not$y$-ones. The findings suggest moreover that predictions of comparative forms based on the syntactic positioning of$y$-adjectives and the [±voiced] nature of their penultimate segments may make sense only with respect to the lexical spread ofmorein other English adjectives. To understand why$y$-adjectives seem divided between -erregularisation and adherence to the trend in English comparisons of amorebias, this paper proposes a need to supplement accounts of comparative alternation focused on the characteristics of$y$-adjectives with considerations related to the lexical spread of comparative constructions.

<p>There are two main ways of expressing the comparative in English adjectives. One is to precede the adjectival base with more and the other is to suffix -er to the base. For the group of adjectives ending in an orthographic -y and an /i/ sound, which I call the y-adjectives, the alternation between more and -er cannot be neatly explained by structural accounts, whether predominantly synchronic or diachronic. The idea of understanding this alternation with respect to a paradigm of comparative constructions is introduced in this thesis. This paradigm comprises a multitude of more and -er constructions (including those of y-adjectives) that share the grammatical function of the comparative. The goal of this thesis is to examine to what extent the comparatives of y-adjectives can be accounted for by the comparative constructions of other members in this paradigm, in addition to a set of syntactic, morphological and phonological considerations. Two empirical studies are reported: a study of the comparative constructions in seven corpora of British comedies spanning the 17th to the 20th centuries; and an experimental study where reading times in the context of comparative y-adjective constructions were observed in a series of self-paced reading tasks. In the corpus study, the morphology of y-adjective bases is found to be a significant predictor of their comparatives. Additionally, significant correlations are found between:   • the comparatives of y-adjectives and those of the disyllabic adjectives that are not y-adjectives (to which I have given the cover term of HANDSOME adjectives);  • the comparatives of y-adjectives and those of the monosyllabic adjectives; and  • the comparatives of y-adjectives and those of adverbs that share some formal features with y-adjectives.  The experimental study furthers an investigation of comparative alternation in y-adjectives in terms of the comparatives of HANDSOME adjectives and the morphological structure of y-adjective bases. In this study, pre-to-post treatment reading is found to be facilitated in y-adjective more comparatives by an exposure to multiple instances of more constructions from the HANDSOME adjectives. The more constructions from HANDSOME adjectives are also found to reduce facilitation in reading in morphologically simple y-adjectives paired with -er. On the other hand, the -er constructions from HANDSOME adjectives are found to reduce facilitation in reading in morphologically complex y-adjectives paired with more. The studies undertaken in this work indicate two important predictors of the comparatives of y-adjectives: the comparatives of HANDSOME adjectives; and the morphological structure of y-adjective bases. The involvement of the comparatives of HANDSOME adjectives as a predictor points to the importance of a paradigm of comparatives for an understanding of the comparatives of y-adjectives. The influence of this paradigm, combined with the influence of morphology, is argued to shed light on a question motivated by the diachronic literature on what could be suppressing the susceptibility of y-adjectives to the structural motivators for particular comparatives. Additionally, the potential for interpreting some unanticipated findings in terms of theories from psychological views on language, and in ways that remain coherent with paradigmatic and morphological viewpoints, is discussed.</p>

Adjectival syllable count, often used to predict English comparatives more versus -er, is of little help in predicting the comparatives of adjectives ending in <y>, pronounced /i/, here called the y-adjectives. Examples of y-adjectives include silly and worthy. This article considers whether the phonemic segment count (segment count) and penultimate syllable weight (penultimate weight) of y-adjectives may serve as alternatives to syllable count in predicting more versus -er. The segment count and penultimate weight of relevant y-adjective tokens from a set of diachronic corpora are studied, alongside the tokens’ morphological complexity and period of occurrence in two separate, parallel sets of mixed-effects models. Syllabification principles for penultimate weight coding differentiate the two sets of modelling. Findings converge on segment count as a predictor of the comparative form, while the role of morphological complexity remains less clear, emerging significantly from one set of modelling but not the other. A rethinking of adjectival length based on segment count is advanced for our understanding of y-adjective comparatives. Discussed also are downstream implications of variant syllabification theories on accounts of y-adjective comparatives, together with insights shed on morphophonological intersections and the potential place of English y-adjective comparatives within the ambit of English alternations.

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