Reconfirming izyoo(ni)- and gurai-comparatives as comparisons of deviation

Abstract

This paper reconfirms that the Japanese comparative constructions making use of the morphemes izyoo(ni) and gurai (henceforth the izyoo(ni)- and gurai-comparatives) express a comparison of deviation in the sense of Bierwisch (in: Bierwisch and Lang (eds.) Dimensional adjectives, Springer, Berlin, 1989) and Kennedy (Linguist Philos 24:33–70, 2001) rather than a standard comparison, a thesis that Hayashishita (Gengo Kenkyu 132:77–109, 2007) maintains. That is, with these comparatives, the matrix object and the object embedded in the sister phrase/clause of izyoo(ni) or gurai are each compared with the standard relevant to a context, and those objects are then compared in terms of how much they exceed the relevant standards. In support of the very thesis, it argues that the izyoo(ni)- and gurai-comparatives necessarily involve two distinct scales, one against which the matrix object is measured and the other against which the object embedded in the sister phrase/clause of izyoo(ni) or gurai is measured. It also demonstrates that the generalization Kubota (Gengo Kenkyu 141:33–46, 2012) puts forth, which prompted him to analyze them as expressing a standard comparison, is compatible with analyzing them as comparisons of deviation.