English Adjective Comparison

A historical perspective

Victorina González-Díaz | University of Liverpool

Hardbound – Available

ISBN 9789027248152 | EUR 110.00 | USD 165.00

e-Book –

ISBN 9789027290953 | EUR 110.00 | USD 165.00

The present work contributes to a better understanding of the English system of degree by means of a study of a number of aspects in the evolution of adjective comparison that have so far either been considered controversial or not been accounted for at all. As will be shown, the diachronic aspects analysed will also have synchronic implications. Furthermore, unlike previous synchronic as well as diachronic accounts of adjective comparison, this monograph does not concentrate only on the ‘standard’ comparative strategies (i.e. inflectional and periphrastic forms), but also deals with double periphrastic comparatives, thus providing an analysis of the whole range of comparative structures in English.

[Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 299] 2008. xix, 252 pp.

Publishing status: Available
Published online on 19 September 2008

https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.299

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements | pp. xiii–xiv

Abbreviations | pp. xv–xix

Chapter 1. Introduction | pp. 1–13

Chapter 2. The origin of periphrastic comparatives | pp. 15–50

Chapter 3. French influence and the spread of periphrastic comparatives in English | pp. 51–73

Chapter 4. Inflectional v. periphrastic comparison in EModE and LModE | pp. 75–107

Chapter 5. Inflectional v. periphrastic comparison in Present-day English | pp. 109–134

Chapter 6. Double periphrastic comparatives in English: Linguistic development | pp. 135–158

Chapter 7. Double periphrastic comparatives: A socio-stylistic analysis | pp. 159–213

Chapter 8. Comparatives and beyond | pp. 215–225

Index | pp. 249–252

“[...] an important contribution to the study of historical linguistics, adjective comparison and semantic-pragmatic aspects presently discussed in language contact issues and variation research. It provides new insights into the emergence and historical development of English comparatives and uncovers a range of hitherto unknown aspects concerning the origin of analytic comparative forms.”

Britta Mondorf, Johannes-Gutenberg Universität Mainz, in Folia Linguistica 43/2 (2009)

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2020. Explaining the variability of adjective comparatives and superlatives: entering the twenty-first century. <i>WORD</i> 66:2 ► pp. 71 ff.

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2016. Determinants of the synthetic–analytic variation across English comparatives and superlatives. English Language and Linguistics 20:3 ► pp. 559 ff.

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2015. Periphrasis as collocation. Morphology 25:1 ► pp. 63 ff.

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Percy, Carol

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2014. Acknowledgements. In Grammatical Variation and Change in Jersey English [Varieties of English Around the World, G48], ► pp. ix ff.

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2014. Appendix 2. Excerpt from a transcript. In Grammatical Variation and Change in Jersey English [Varieties of English Around the World, G48], ► pp. 233 ff.

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2014. 1. Introduction. In Grammatical Variation and Change in Jersey English [Varieties of English Around the World, G48], ► pp. 1 ff.

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2014. List of maps, figures and tables. In Grammatical Variation and Change in Jersey English [Varieties of English Around the World, G48], ► pp. xi ff.

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2014. Index. In Grammatical Variation and Change in Jersey English [Varieties of English Around the World, G48], ► pp. 235 ff.

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2014. 2. Theoretical foundations. In Grammatical Variation and Change in Jersey English [Varieties of English Around the World, G48], ► pp. 7 ff.

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2014. 7. Other grammatical features: An overview. In Grammatical Variation and Change in Jersey English [Varieties of English Around the World, G48], ► pp. 147 ff.

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2014. 9. Conclusion. In Grammatical Variation and Change in Jersey English [Varieties of English Around the World, G48], ► pp. 205 ff.

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2014. References. In Grammatical Variation and Change in Jersey English [Varieties of English Around the World, G48], ► pp. 213 ff.

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2014. 6. Features of the Jersey English verb phrase. In Grammatical Variation and Change in Jersey English [Varieties of English Around the World, G48], ► pp. 103 ff.

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