Some Aspects of English Ungradable Adjectives

概要

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Besides the above mentioned four types of ungradable adjectives, there are many that are considered to be ungradable under normal circumstances (e.g. ones that convey mathematically exact quantities). To summarize the four types of ungradable adjectives we have discussed so far, they either have meanings that refer to points (i.e. non-ranges), whether at the extremes or the means of a scale, or have an either-or meaning with nothing between. All of them share one trait in common, that is they are susceptible of being compared in spite of their original non-comparable qualities, but for different reasons. Quirk et al. ascribe the possibility of comparing maximizers to a divided usage. As for the adjectives that have an either-or meaning (e.g. dead and alive), Lyons explains that their secondary implications (or connotations) are being compared. As for the ones derived from nouns, Bolinger notes that they can be compared because they have gradable meanings as well as ungradable one. As for the adjectives which signify something that is at the centre of a scale, Bolinger notes that when they are ranged with a non-central meaning, comparison becomes possible^7.
日本医科大学の論文
1987-03-01