Lingvisticæ Investigationes - Volume 31, Issue 1, 2008

This article deals with syntactic and semantic representation of comparative structures in French. We propose an analysis of quantitative comparatives (plus, moins, aussi … que) and qualitative comparatives (comme) which highlights their common properties as well as their specificities. The first section (§ 1) offers a syntactic typology of matrix clause structures and (comparative) subordinate clause structures. The following sections consider the various aspects of semantic representations, as related to syntactic structures : we successively deal with (§ 2.) the type of parameter, (§ 3.) the type of differential constituant in the subordinate clause, (§ 4.) the type of parallel constituant in the matrix clause (with restitution of ellipses and anaphora), (§ 5.) the type of compared terms, by contrasting quantitative comparisons and qualitative comparison, and (§ 6.) the type of comparison, accounting for prototypical structures as well as for pragmatic effects induced by certain configurations.

Tout has many different adverbial uses. This paper deals with one of them, which is hardly ever taken into account, or even mentioned, in grammar books: tout can be used as a premodifier of the subordinator comme in comparative constructions. Comme is the only qu-word that can be premodified by tout. However, there are heavy constraints on the premodification of comme by tout and the presence of tout, very often, prevents the actualization of meanings (time or cause for instance) which would be possible otherwise. The paper aims to show that, in comparative constructions, it is sometimes compulsory, sometimes optional or sometimes impossible to insert tout. These variations are a consequence of the basic meaning of tout, which is defined, after Franckel 1989, as a sign marking the absence of any form of otherness. The article ends with a few remarks on tout comme (with no constituent after comme).

The aim of this paper “La comparative relative X que ce que P et son homonyme en français : contextes d’apparition et emploi en corpus” is an analysis of the so-called relativized phrasal comparative construction X que ce que P, in French vs. frequently used in another romance languages. In fact, this sequence is identical to an another and useful sequence found in the sentential comparative construction, which nature and conditions of use are to be defined firstly. We after compare the relativized phrasal comparative construction properties with the properties of the sentential comparative construction and secondily with the exclamative French construction ce que P ! whose form, degree reading, and some syntactic and semantic features are similar.

In French, in some equative et comparative constructions, can be found, before the adverb of degree (or sometimes after it), an element which modifies this adverb, e.g. bien, beaucoup, d’autant… The present investigation is concerned with this modifier, which is analyzed and classified.

This article focuses on the diachronic study of equative constructions in Middle French. We concentrate particularly on distinct evolutions of two functional elements : the parameter marker (si / aussi alternation) and the standard marker (que / comme alternation). We try to determine relevant factors of change, observing especially semantic types of predication (actualized vs non actualized predicates)