Dimension Accessibility as a Predictor of Morphological Gradability

Abstract

Existing formal theories represent the interpretations of gradable predicates in terms of single scalar dimensions. This paper presents a new approach, which aims to cover morphological gradability in multidimensional adjectives and nouns. Following psychological theories, nouns are assumed to be associated with dimension sets, like adjectives. Degree constructions are proposed to involve quantification on dimensions. This approach correlates the acceptability of a given noun or adjective in comparison constructions with its type of characteristic categorization criterion (i.e., whether, as a default, its dimensions combine into a single criterion via quantifiers or other operations). A preliminary study confirms the predicted correlation. Directions for future research are proposed.