Conjoined Comparison and Variation in Degree Semantics

• Published in: Language and linguistics compass Vol. 19; no. 4
• Main Author: Bochnak, M. Ryan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.07.2025
• ISSN: 1749-818X; 1749-818X
• DOI: 10.1111/lnc3.70016

ABSTRACT Conjoined comparisons, consisting of two clauses containing antonymous or positive‐negative predicate pairs, are among the most common comparison construction types in the world's languages. As research on degree constructions from a cross‐linguistic perspective has increased, so too has the number of studies focused on conjoined comparisons. Although the number of languages that have received in‐depth treatment is still fairly small, this growing body of research has already uncovered important aspects of cross‐linguistic variation, to the point where we can now begin to hypothesize about the typology of conjoined comparisons. This article summarizes these findings, and takes the first steps towards developing a typology of conjoined comparison constructions, taking into account not only differences between conjoined comparisons, but also the overall degree‐behaviour of the languages. It will be emphasized that the existence of conjoined comparison is not diagnostic of the absence of degrees in a language more generally.