Comparative Constructions: An Introduction

Treis, Yvonne

doi:10.1349/ps1.1537-0852.a.492

Cited by 23 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Haspelmath & Buchholz (1998) identify a class of sentences that equate different types of semantic objects such as degrees, individuals, manners, times, etc. (see also Rett 2013Rett , 2015Haspelmath et al 2017;Treis 2018). Such constructions are exemplified in (3a-d) respectively:…”

Section: Equative Constructions: a Standard Degree-based Accountmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…To begin with, in many languages such as English, a prototypical scalar equative construction takes a gradable predicate as its main predicate and expresses an equality relation in degrees between a comparee and a standard with respect to the gradable property denoted by the main predicate. There are five constitutive elements in a typical equative construction (following the terminology of Haspelmath & Buchholz (1998); Rett (2013); Haspelmath & the Leipzig Equative Constructions Team (2017); see also Treis (2018), among many others): (1) a comparee: what is being compared against some standard of comparison; (2) a degree marker , or alternatively, parameter marker: marks the degree of presence/absence of a property in the comparee; (3) a parameter of comparison: the property that is being compared, often contributed by a scalar, gradable predicate (adjectives, verbs, etc. ); (4) a standard marker: marker of the grammatical function of the standard; (5) a standard of comparison: what the comparee is being compared against.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The semantics of scalar equatives in Mandarin Chinese

Cao¹,

Luo

2022

LALI

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The article presents a formal analysis of the xiang……yiyang scalar equative construction in Mandarin Chinese (MSEs). In the standard degree-based approach, scalar equatives are widely assumed to express an asymmetrical linear ordering between two degree-denoting descriptions such that the degree to which the comparee possesses is at least as great as the degree to which the standard possesses. However, this standard analysis would fall short of MSEs, which display a cluster of properties that are unexpected on the standard account: (i) MSEs disallow differentials; (ii) MSEs cannot take measure phrases as the standard; (iii) MSEs in general do not license NPIs in the standard phrases, and (iv) MSEs disallow factor phrases that express multiplication of numerical values. We propose that unlike scalar equatives in English (ESEs), where the comparison of equality is based on asymmetrical linear ordering of the degrees as points, MSEs recur to degrees as kinds, and consequently, the comparison of equality in the latter is based on instantiation of the degree-kinds, namely, equality of properties. The commonalities and differences between MSEs and ESEs suggest that, despite the fact that degrees and properties are semantic objects of distinct types, the underlying connection between them runs deep and fundamental.

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Section: Equative Constructions: a Standard Degree-based Accountmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The semantics of scalar equatives in Mandarin Chinese

Cao¹,

Luo

2022

LALI

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“…Similative and equative constructions encode similarity between a comparee (cpree) and a standard (stand) with respect to some action or property, called a parameter (par), and by means of a standard marker (stm; Haspelmath, Buchholz 1998;Treis 2018). In the R̥ V, constructions introduced by the standard markers ná, iva, and yáthā constitute the main strategy for the encoding of comparison of equality.…”

Section: R̥ Gvedic Similative Constrictionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

1 | 2 | 2022

2022

bhasha

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This article first shows that synchronic etymologising -a phenomenon that finds expression in Yāska's Nirukta and many other Indian texts -is in fact a universal phenomenon found in many (if not all) human cultures as well as in children. It then argues that the tendency to synchronic etymologising plays an essential role in the acquisition of language, a process we all went through in our childhood.

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“…Another special case of the similative is the hypothetical comparison or simulative (Treis 2018: iii):…”

Section: Similativementioning

confidence: 99%

1 Comparison and Gradation in Indo- European: Introduction and Overview

Keydana¹,

Hock²,

Widmer³

2021

Comparison and Gradation in Indo-European

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Comparison and Gradation in Indo-European: Introduction and Overview1 The Basics "Fundamental to cognitive processing and the structuring of experience is our ability to compare events and register any contrast or discrepancy between them" (Langacker 1987: 101). It is hardly a surprise then that all known human languages have ways to express comparisons. What makes comparison such a rewarding topic for typological studies is the fact that it can be expressed by various means ranging from pragmatics to fully grammaticalized constructions.The most frequent and possibly most fundamental type of comparison (see Jäger 2018: 433 with fns. 424, 425, 434) is one in which the listener/reader is invited to conceptualize one entity in terms of another entity. Typically, the two entities compared belong to fundamentally different ontological categories:(1)John is like a lion.Comparisons of this type are holistic: While the most salient properties relevant for the comparison may be made explicit or may be inferred from the context, they always evoke the whole concept of the comparandum. Thus, a discourse like the following is felicitous:(2) A: John won the heavyweight championships. B: Yes, he is like a lion. A: He hasn't got a mane, though.Comparative constructions like the one in (1) are called similatives. They will be discussed in greater detail in section 2.Other types of comparison aim at specific properties pertaining to the compared individuals. They involve what Langacker (1987: 104) calls 'selection' and some type of gradation relative to the selected property. Gradation is the notion of explicitly assigning an entity a position relative to some other contextually relevant value(s) on a predicative scale. Gradation is thus always extent-based (Seuren 1973, von Stechow 1984, Kennedy 2001, Beck 2011. For example, (3) explicitly assigns Peter a value on the scale of body size that is closer to 'tall' than to 'small'.

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Comparative Constructions: An Introduction

Cited by 23 publications

References 6 publications

The semantics of scalar equatives in Mandarin Chinese

The semantics of scalar equatives in Mandarin Chinese

1 | 2 | 2022

1 Comparison and Gradation in Indo- European: Introduction and Overview

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