Values

0 no 29
1 yes 5
? missing value 0

Is there a separate morphological marker for expressing equative meaning?

Uralic Areal Typology feature UT097

Is there a separate morphological marker for expressing equative meaning?

In the case of an equative meaning two referents can be shown to have a gradable property to the same degree. Respective constructions typically consist of a (i) comparee, (ii) a degree-marker (‘as’), (iii) a parameter (‘is big’), (iv) a standard-marker (‘as’), and (v)a standard (1). (Haspelmath 2017: 11) Morphological equative marker can be found, for instance, in Erzya where the suffix -ʃkɑ (identical with the comparative case suffix) is used to mark size, approximate (2).

(1) (i) Kim (ii) is (iii) as tall (iv) as (v) Pat (Haspelmath 2011: 19)

(2) Erzya and Mokša (Ajanki & Hamari, to appear)

алаша-шка
ɑlɑʃɑ-ʃkɑ**
horse-EQU
‘as big as a horse’

Coding. The value is '1' if there is a separate morphological marker to compare two referents with respect to a gradable property (as in Erzya). The value is '0' if a language only contains attributive usages:

(3) Veps (Nina Zaitseva & Riho Grünthal, p.c.)

mina en nägend minun tytren
1SG NEG.1SG see.ACT.PST.PTCP 1SG.POSS daughter.GEN
com-uttu-st neicukast
beautiful-EQU.DG-PRT girl.PRT
‘I didn’t see a girl as beautiful as my daughter.’

References
Ajanki, Rigina & Arja Hamari, to appear. Oxford Handbook.
Haspelmath, Martin. 2017. Equative constructions in world-wide perspective. In Yvonne Treis & Martine Vanhove (eds.), Typological Studies in Language, vol. 117, 9–32. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.117.02has.

Language Value Comment Example Id

Values for this feature plotted on the phylogenetic tree