Article

Name: Metalingistic Representation of the Semantics of Comparison as a Linguistic Sign

Authors: Natalya B. Koshkareva, Ilya M. Plotnikov

Institute of Philology of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation

Abstract:

Comparison is analyzed from the point of view of its semantic structure, as opposed to other approaches based on analysis of comparative constructions. Establishing a central semantic framework allows to represent a variety of formally inequable comparative structures in different languages in a systemic way. From the point of view of semantics, comparison is a type of interpropositional relation, which consists of three components: the relation itself and two entities connected by it (relatees).

Relation denotes the amount of similarities and differences between relatees, while also giving an assessment of the degree to which these similarities and differences are considered important. A secondary component of the relation is proposed by the name of exponent, which expands on the relation by giving it a more nuanced assessment or representing it in the form of a value such as a numerical measurement. Each relatee constitutes a proposition. It is suggested to view each relatee as a combination of three components (comparee, parameter and modal actualizer), with the possibility that some of them can be shared between relatees, resulting in different ways of expressing the relation. Several classifications of these components are proposed, with the comparees being classified into subject-comparees and event-comparees depending on their propositionality, comparees divided based on their referential properties, and parameters described in terms of their granularity, scalability and direction of the scale.

Keywords: comparison, plane of content of language sign, semantic syntax, event propositions, logical propositions, proposition of characterization, Khanty language

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