Degree structure as trope structure: a trope-based analysis of positive and comparative adjectives

Friederike Moltmann (1)

1 UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

This paper explores a novel analysis of adjectives in the comparative and the positive based on the notion of a trope, rather than the notion of a degree. Tropes are particularized properties, concrete manifestations of properties in individuals. The point of departure is that a sentence like ‘John is happier than Mary' is intuitively equivalent to ‘John's happiness exceeds Mary's happiness', a sentence that expresses a simple comparison between two tropes, John's happiness and Mary's happiness. The analysis received particular support from various parallels between adjectival constructions and corresponding adjective nominalizations which make reference to tropes.

Mots clés: Comparatives; Adjectives; Degrees; Tropes; Nominalizations

Friederike Moltmann. Degree structure as trope structure: a trope-based analysis of positive and comparative adjectives. Linguistics and Philosophy, 2009, 32 (1), pp.51-94. ⟨10.1007/s10988-009-9054-5⟩. ⟨hal-00535502⟩