Pavel Caha: The Nanosyntax of the Adjective (Week 2)

The course investigates the morphology of adjectival degrees in the framework of Nanosyntax. The main focus is the extremely rich morphology of adjectives and adverbs in Czech (and beyond). Through its investigation, we discover the fine-grained ingredients of adjectival meaning. We dive into the complexities of comparative formation in Czech, which seems to run counter to some proposed morphological universals (namely that the comparative degree is morphologically based on the positive degree). Time permitting, we also briefly visit deadjectival verbs. This course builds on an ongoing joint work with Karen De Clercq (Paris), Michal Starke (Brno) and Guido Vanden Wyngaerd (KU Leuven). It presupposes some prior knowledge of Nanosyntax, e.g., the course “Introduction to Nanosyntax” that I am teaching in the first week.