Comparison

In this course, we will discuss select topics in the morpho-syntax and semantics of comparison, among them: (i) the grammar of property concepts, and its implications for the question of how degrees are introduced to gradable adjectives and what the relation between the positive and the comparative forms is; (ii) varieties of “more” across and within languages; phrasal, clausal and measure phrase comparatives, and links with the scope of “more”; (iii) absolute and relative interpretations of superlatives, the role of scope, focus and definiteness; proportional and relative readings of quantity superlatives. We will pay close attention to compositional interpretation and to the details of cross-linguistic variation. The course will be relevant to students interested in quantification, the semantics of measurement, the structure of adjectives, and the syntax-semantics interface more broadly.