Inhaltszusammenfassung

Comparative alternation, i.e. the choice between synthetic forms of comparison (prouder) and their analytic variant (more proud), is a showcase of grammatical variation that poses an intriguing challenge to linguistic theory-building. The present article highlights the lexicalisation and choice of comparative forms in adjectival compounds/derivatives (e.g. harder-nosed vs. more hard-nosed). Findings reported in Mondorf (2000) are revisited and complemented on the basis of novel data – includi...Comparative alternation, i.e. the choice between synthetic forms of comparison (prouder) and their analytic variant (more proud), is a showcase of grammatical variation that poses an intriguing challenge to linguistic theory-building. The present article highlights the lexicalisation and choice of comparative forms in adjectival compounds/derivatives (e.g. harder-nosed vs. more hard-nosed). Findings reported in Mondorf (2000) are revisited and complemented on the basis of novel data – including a cross-variety perspective – in order to arrive at new insights concerning the systematic correlation between the lexicalization of compounds and the choice of comparative form. By gauging lexicalization in terms of spelling (i.e. highrisk, high-risk, high risk) we can predict that the more closely integrated the elements of compounds, the less likely they are to take the synthetic comparative form, and vice versa. While this tendency might at first glance appear to reflect a reluctance to permit intervening -er suffixes within compounds (e.g. shorter-lived), it can now for the first time be shown to hold irrespective of the prospective position of the -er suffix (e.g. street-wiser).» weiterlesen» einklappen

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Klassifikation

DFG Fachgebiet:
Sprachwissenschaften

DDC Sachgruppe:
Sprachwissenschaft, Linguistik