Chapter 11
Competition in comparatives
A look at Romance scenarios
This chapter provides an initial exploration of
the phenomenon of competition in comparatives in Romance languages.
Latin had both synthetic and periphrastic comparatives, whose
distribution was phonologically conditioned. Romance languages have
generalized the periphrastic construction to all adjectives, but
have also often inherited continuants of all or some of the four
synthetic suppletive comparatives melior “better”,
peior “worse”, māior “bigger”,
minor “smaller”. Therefore, in the evolution
from Latin to Romance languages, the stage is set for competition
between synthetic and analytic constructions, such as Italian
migliore vs. più buono
“better”. This chapter discusses the solutions found in different
Romance languages, as explained in descriptive grammars and other
works. These solutions span from extinction of the synthetic
suppletive forms altogether, to blocking of the analytic
construction when the synthetic one is available, to overabundance
between synthetic and analytic forms, to the creation of niches in
which the two constructions distribute differentially. A
corpus-based pilot study of Italian suggests a fruitful way to
uncover such niches.
Article outline
- 1.Comparatives from Latin to Romance
- 2.Synthetic and analytic expression of ‘better’, ‘worse’, ‘bigger’
and ‘smaller’ in Romance: Theoretical possibilities and descriptions in
grammars
- 2.1Scenario 1: The analytic construction blocks the synthetic
construction
- 2.2Scenario 2: The synthetic construction blocks the analytic
construction
- 2.3Scenario 3: Both constructions exist, and are used
interchangeably
- 2.4Scenario 4: Both constructions exist, and are used in different
contexts
- 2.4.1Concrete vs. abstract meaning
- 2.4.2Elevated vs. informal register
- 2.4.3Specific senses of the base adjective
- 2.4.3.1‘Younger’ and ‘older’
- 2.4.3.2‘Smaller in size’ and ‘bigger in size’
- 2.4.3.3‘Good-natured, kind’
- 2.4.4Set phrases
- 2.5Interim conclusions
- 3.
Più buono vs. migliore in
Italian: Niches
- 4.Concluding remarks
-
Acknowledgements
-
Notes
-
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Cited by
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