The Analytic Comparative in Serbo-Croatian

This article attempts to show that the (periphrastic, compound) should be introduced as a topic in descriptive grammars and textbooks of Serbo-Croatian. The in Serbo-Croatian is rarely dealt with in scholarly writing, even though it is not particularly rare in other Slavic languages. It is quite normal in Slovenian, and figures in the description of at least one variety of Serbo-Croatian.' By analytic comparative I refer to the periphrastic construction of the synthetic (simple) vile 'more' (from mnogo; sometimes vecma) or manje 'less' (from malo) and the positive degree of an adjective or adverb.2 The functions of the are virtually identical with those of the synthetic (formed by -ji, -iji, and -1i);3 furthermore, the permits a downward comparison (comparison of inferiority), which the synthetic does not. I shall disregard here the extreme view that all periphrastic constructions belong to syntax, rather than to morphology.4 The most explicit statement on the existence of the in Serbo-Croatian is in Vaillant's Grammaire comparee: En cas de n&cessite, la langue peut avoir recour ' un tour periphrastique avec vile 'plus.' .. .r He adduces no examples, however, and one might think he refers to the so called inner comparative, as in [On je] vile sreccan nego pametan '[He is] more fortunate than clever,' found in another work of his.6 This type of is sanctioned by Yugoslav scholars as well.7 Maretid, however, prefers the synthetic (of both adjectives) even here: Srecniji si nego pametniji.8 Maretid does opt for the in cases like vile divlji 'more savage,' and insists on vise srpski (instead of srpskifi) 'more Serbian,' when quoting Vuk Karadcid.6 Since a number of adjectives, including those in -ski, are often said to lack a synthetic (for morphological or semantic reasons), Maretid's use of vise srpski can be regarded as implicit advice to use the with adjectives said to lack the synthetic. For past passive participles, Maretid explicitly admits the only: vecma poremecen 'more deranged.' The views of other scholars differ. Vaillant claims that all adjectives

Croatian · Linguistics · Linguistics and language evolution · Linguistics, Language Diversity, and Identity · Philosophy