Reflections on comparatives and superlatives through a modular lens

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to study and rethink the linguistic nature of four degree-related grammatical formatives in the Dutch language. I will do this by examining them through a modular lens rather than a construction-specific lens. Two of those formatives are found in comparative constructions, namely the comparative bound morpheme -er, as in lager ‘lower’, and the standard marker dan ‘than’. The other two grammatical formatives are attested in superlative adjectival constructions that are used predicatively, namely the superlative marker ’t, which superficially looks like the neuter definite article, and the bound morpheme -e, which appears to attach optionally to the superlative adjective, as in ’t laagst(-e), ’t lowest(-e), ‘lowest’. It is proposed for each of these four elements that they are not construction-specific properties but rather properties that can be found in other structural environments as well. In short, comparative formation and superlative formation involve grammatical properties that are attested also elsewhere in the syntax of Dutch. With this result, this chapter hopes to show that the strategy of reflecting on language through a modular lens allows us to see hidden abstract structures underneath of the linguistic sound surface.