On the Internal Structure of Comparative Constructions:

Abstract In this chapter a unified structure is proposed for comparatives of superiority and comparatives of equality in Chinese. The comparee and the standard of the comparative construction assume a complex DP structure headed by a comitative. The structure captures semantic and syntactic parallelism of individual comparison as a parametric mode of comparatives by means of Chinese. Through an examination of Japanese attributive comparatives, it is argued that the two languages are similarly parameterized into individual comparison, thereby accounting for the lack of sub-comparatives and negative island effects seen in English comparatives.