Legend: Definitions, Terms, <Text>, «apa», -Tags-, and "Glosses".
A scalar is a verb or quantity word that denotes a scale of comparison and a direction of comparison. The direction of comparison has 3 possibilities; these are labeled positive, negative, and normative, so there are usually 3 verb stems for each scale of comparison. The term normative refers to a range of neutral values, while positive refers to greater values and negative refers to lesser values. Note then that scalar (arithmetic) positives and negatives are not the same as polar (logical) positive and negative.
Some scalars have only positive stems.
The subject of comparison refers to the entity being compared with respect to the scale of comparison and the standard of comparison refers to what it's compared to. The various scalar functions differ mainly in how the standard of comparison manifests.
The term tolerance refers to how wide or narrow the normative range is. Numerous adverbs are used in translating tolerance into English.
The scalar difference represents the absolute value of the difference between the value of the subject of comparison and that of the standard of comparison, expressed using some unit of measurement appropriate to the scale of comparison.
| Word | Tag | Name | Description or Glosses | Slot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| sf | Self | Self | "self" | Noun |
| c | Cmpr | Comparative | Verb | |
| ps | Pst | Relative Past | "former" | |
| fu | Fut | Relative Future | "future" | |
| 9n | Nar | Narrow or Tight | "slightly", "precisely", "by a little" | Derivation |
| 9w | Wid | Wide or Loose | "very", "roughly", "by a lot" | |
| 9m | Max | Maximal-minimal | "as X as possible" | |
| 9q | SQ | Interrogative | "how X?" | |
| s | Sat | Satisfactive | "X enough", "so X" | Conjunction |
| e | Exc | Excessive | "too X" | |
| d | Dif | Difference | "by" | |
| z | Abs | Absolute Value |
Tolerance is provided by a verb-to-verb derivation, preceding any aspectual derivation.
When the scalar verb is normative, narrow tolerance may be translated as "precisely" and wide tolerance as "roughly". When modifying a superlative, narrow tolerance may be translated as "by a little" and wide tolerance as "by a lot". Tolerance is medium if unmarked and no scalar difference is specified.
For the maximal kind, the 9m suffix appears on a positive scalar verb, while for the minimal kind, it appears on a negative scalar verb. These are both translated as "as X as possible", where X is the scalar root's translation. Note that these are treated as marked tolerance.
A scalar value question requests a scalar answer (not necessarily an absolute value), as in "how hot?". A scalar question uses a verb-to-verb derivation, preceding any aspectual derivation. Tight or loose tolerance is possible, but not scalar difference.
| (1.1) | ]kfe/hot9q=t |
|---|---|
| "How hot is that coffee?" |
Both scalar difference expressions and absolute value expressions are provided by an adverbial word. This word consists of a measurement unit noun + a quantity verb and a minor conjunction, either d for scalar difference or z for absolute value. Note that some scalars have no possible measurement units. Scalar difference clauses precede the word containing the qualified verb and preclude marked tolerance there.
| (2.1) | ft/6\z | /wal/tal | 1[fnd\t |
|---|---|---|---|
| "I found a 6 foot tall wall." | |||
A manner adverbial specifies the manner in which an action is performed. It consists of an impersonal form of a scalar verb (not all scalar verbs are useful here) as auxiliary following the action clause.
| (3.1) | ]rabt\run | 0.fst\q |
|---|---|---|
| "Did that rabbit run fast?" | ||
For a normal (or relative) scalar, the standard of comparison is always some implicit norm whose value is appropriate to the subject of comparison. A normative stem indicates that the scalar value is more or less the same as the norm while a positive stem indicates a greater value and a negative stem a lesser value.
Either tolerance or scalar difference is possible. With a positive or negative scalar, narrow precision may be translated as "slightly" and wide precision as "very".
A comparative is an explicit comparison and may be one of equality (using a normative) or inequality (using a positive or negative). The scale of comparison may apply to
A comparative is indicated as such by the presence of the verb c, whose object always represents the standard of comparison with the subject always representing the subject of comparison.
Either tolerance or a scalar difference clause is possible. If the comparative is one of inequality, narrow tolerance may be translated as "(by) a little" and wide tolerance as "(by) a lot" (there are other translations).
| (4.1) | =cat/1 | [dog[c | 4/syz=t |
|---|---|---|---|
| "This dog is as small as a cat." | |||
| (4.2) | dog/1 | rabt[c | 4\run | 0.fst\t |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The rabbit ran faster than the dog." | ||||
| (4.3) | frwt/p | twbr/mny | 4[c | mn[et[t |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The man has eaten more tubers than fruit." | ||||
| (4.4) | wm/1 | mn[c | twbr/mny | 4]et[t |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The man has eaten more tubers than the woman." | ||||
The subject of comparison's referent may be compared to an earlier or later instance of itself or it may instead be compared to an earlier or later instance of some other entity. In the first case, sf appears as the noun of the standard of comparison. In both cases, either ps or fu appears as the verb of the standard of comparison.
| (4.5) | sf/ps | mn[c | 4/hvy=t |
|---|---|---|---|
| "The man is heavier than he was." | |||
| (4.6) | \john/fu | \tom[c | 4/tal=t |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Tom is taller than John will be." | |||
A satisfactive comparison is used to affirm or question the suitability of the subject of comparison for some actual or potential result, with respect to the scale of comparison while an excessive comparison is used to deny or question the suitability of the subject of comparison for some actual or potential result, with respect to the scale of comparison. In both cases, the standard of comparison is represented by a preceding result clause whose conjunction is either s or e.
The future is used for potential results, the conditional perfect is used for contrary-to-fact results, and the imperfect is used for actual results.
Either tolerance or a scalar difference clause is possible.
| (5.1) | chr/brk;s | mn/hvy=t |
|---|---|---|
| "The man is heavy enough to break the chair." | ||
| (5.2) | chr/brk]s | mn/hvy\t |
|---|---|---|
| "The man was so heavy, the chair would've broken." | ||
| (5.3) | chr/brk\s | mn/hvy\t |
|---|---|---|
| "The man was so heavy, the chair broke." | ||
| (5.4) | [kfe/dk;e | 4/hot=t |
|---|---|---|
| "This coffee is too hot to drink." | ||
page started: 2022.Feb.21 Mon
current date: 2022.Feb.22 Tue
content and form originated by qiihoskeh
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