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French

ID: <

10670/1.81ieyl

>

·

DOI: <

10.1051/cmlf/2010024

>

Where these data come from
The spistemic comparison in modern French

Abstract

The epistemic comparison in modern French Résumé L’études, which is based on proven examples (from the 18th century to the present), is devoted to the so-called epistemic comparison in French (e.g. ‘it is more grinchful than offensive’). The special feature of this type of comparison is that it operates on a meta-linguistic rather than predictive level: contrary to the standard comparison (he is more grinchful than his brother), the (in) parity of degree relates, not to prediction, but to the relevance of the assertion of the two propositional patterns (“it is more accurate/fairer/more relevant to say that it is grinchy than to say that it is disingenuous”). The various parameters that guide the spistemic reading are examined in turn. First, formal indices (degree markers, adverbs, structure and position of the subordinate, negations). Then semantic preaching (non-gradability, synonym, antonymy) — in case of double reading (epistemic/standard), it is proposed to address interpretative uncertainty in terms of indeterminate, not ambiguity. Finally, in pragmatic terms, the three main configurations (inclusive disjunction, exclusive disjunction, conjunction), which give rise to three types of defensive effects: adversarial correction, rebuttal and higher prices. In conclusion, it is shown that the equivalence between epistemic patterns of comparison and patterns of coordination of assertions (positive and/or negative), far from reflecting a weakening of the category of comparison, is, on the contrary, indicative of the close links between gradation and assertion — links also manifested by some languages in the expression of the standard comparison.

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