Degree Equative Constructions in English

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

When comparing certain properties between two entities, the evaluation is generally comparatively high or comparatively low. However, a certain type of comparative sentence (hereinafter, a degree equative construction) does not contain the entity to be compared. This study addresses such English degree equative constructions, seeking to identify their grammatical characteristics and describe the circumstances in which they are used by carefully examining their syntactic and semantic properties based on corpora data. To this end, to different analysis types are adopted: raw frequency and collostructional. The study investigates the distributional properties of the parameters to identify which properties degree equative constructions are used to compare. The total number of parameters is only 33, an unexpectedly small number. In addition, the study identifies four different types of degree equative constructions in terms of the relationship between the target of comparison and three other elements: premodificational, postmodificational, predicative, and adverbial. To understand degree equative constructions through collostructional analysis, the study calculates the association strength between the parameters and degree equative constructions. Thirteen parameters are the most strongly associated with the construction, and their value is infinite. Thus, this parameter group can be viewed as providing prototypical meanings.

참고문헌 (Reference)

1 Kennedy, C., "Vagueness and grammar : The semantics of relative and absolute gradable predicates" 30 : 1-45, 2007

2 Merchant, J., "Two phrasal comparatives in Greek" University of Chicago 2012

3 Andersen, R., "Transfer to somewhere" 1 : 177-201, 1983

4 Davies, M., "Time magazine corpus: 100 million words, 1923-2006"

5 Rett, J., "The polysemy of measurement" 143 : 242-266, 2014

6 Klein, E., "The interpretation of adjectival comparatives" 18 : 113-136, 1982

7 Davies, M., "The corpus of contemporary American English: 1.0 billion words, 1990-2019"

8 Stassen, L, "The comparative compared" 3.1 (3.1): 143-182, 1984

9 Hilpert, M., "The English comparative–language structure and language use" 12 (12): 395-417, 2008

10 Huddleston, R. D., "The Cambridge grammar of the English Language" Cambridge University Press 1099-1170, 2002

11 Bresnan, J. W., "Syntax of the comparative clause construction in English" 4 : 275-343, 1973

12 Grimshaw, J., "Subdeletion" 18 (18): 659-669, 1987

13 Treis, Y., "Similative and equative constructions: A cross-linguistic perspective (Vol. 117)" John Benjamins Publishing Company 2017

14 Rett, J., "Separate but equal: A typology of equative constructions" UCLA 2019

15 Kennedy, C., "Scale structure, degree modification and the semantic typology of gradable predicates" 81 (81): 345-381, 2005

16 Strauss, U., "Possessives and beyond: Semantics and syntax" GLSA Publications 183-198, 2004

17 Kennedy, C., "Polar opposition and the ontology of degrees" 24 : 33-70, 2001

18 Wunderlich, D., "Perspectives on semantics, pragmatics and discourse" Benjamins 75-89, 2001

19 Bresnan, J. W., "On the form and functioning of transformations" 7 (7): 3-40, 1976

20 Kennedy, C., "Modes of comparison" 2007

21 Stassen, L., "Language typology and language universals: An international handbook (Vol. 2)" 993-997, 2001

22 Lyons, J., "Introduction to theoretical linguistics(Vol. 510)" Cambridge University Press 1968

23 Corver, N., "Freezing effects" 2 : 383-406, 2006

24 Haspelmath, M., "Equative constructions in world-wide perspective" 9-32, 2017

25 Haspelmath, M., "Equative and similative constructions in the languages of Europe" de Gruyter 277-334, 1998

26 Kennedy, C., "Encyclopedia of language and linguistics" Elsevier Limited 690-694, 2005

27 Henkelmann, P., "Constructions of equative comparison" 59 (59): 370-398, 2006

28 Hilpert, M., "Construction grammar and its application to English" Edinburgh University Press 2014

29 Stassen, L., "Comparison and universal grammar" Blackwell 1985

30 Napoli, D. J., "Comparative ellipsis : A phrase structure analysis" 14 (14): 675-694, 1983

31 Pilch, H., "Comparative constructions in English" 41 (41): 37-58, 1965

32 Dixon, R. W., "Comparative constructions : A cross-linguistic typology" 32 (32): 787-817, 2008

33 Haspelmath, M., "Comparative concepts and descriptive categories in crosslinguistic studies" 86 (86): 663-687, 2010

34 Stefanowitsch, A., "Collostructions : Investigating the interaction of words and constructions" 8 (8): 209-243, 2003

35 Quirk, R., "A university grammar of English" Longman 1973

36 Klein, E., "A semantics for positive and comparative adjectives" 4 : 1-45, 1980

37 Quirk R., "A comprehensive grammar of the English language" Pearson Longman 1985