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Subdeletion structures as additional evidence for different analysis of synthetic and analytic comparatives in Russian In Russian there are two seemingly interchangeable comparative forms of adjectives: synthetic (the suffix -ee) and analytic (the word bolee). However, as has been noticed before, these two forms have clearly different distributions (Matushansky (2002)):

Differentials Genitive DP complements

Synthetic

Analytic # #

The table does not contain an exhaustive list of distinctions between the two structures. One more peculiar characteristic pertaining to synthetic rather than analytic comparatives in Russian is the inability of the former to appear in so-called subdeletion structures. Consider the English sentence in (1) translated into Russian as in (2). The direct translation of (1) is ungrammatical (2-a); however it improves with the analytic form of the comparative adjective (2-b), but the form preferred by speakers has nothing to do with the comparison of adjectives any more - we are rather dealing with their nominalisations (2-c). (1) (2) This table is longer than the door is wide. a. *Etot stol dlinnee, cem dvernoj projem sirokij. Ё this table longer than door opening wide `This table is longer than the door is wide.' b. ?Etot stol bolee dlinnyj, cem dvernoj projem sirokij. Ё This table more long than door opening wide `This table is longer than the door is wide.' c. Dlina etogo s t ol a bol'se [siriny dvernogo projema/ Ё length this.G E N table.G E N more/bigger width.G E N door opening.G dvernogo projema]. Ё sirina wi d t h . N O M . d o o r opening.G E N. `The length of this table is bigger than the width of the door.'

EN

cem / than

The fact that the comparison of nominalized degree predicates is possible (1-c) is an indication that the inability of the synthetic comparative to occur in subdeletion constructions is not fully semantic in nature. Rather, it has to do with certain LF operations, like d-argument movement. According to Matushansky (2002), the difference between synthetic and analytic comparatives boils down to the presence of the functional projection F in DegP and its semantics; F blocks the movement of the adjective to the Deg head and thus the analytic form results. This is unclear why some contexts would require the presence of F (subdeletion structures) and some its absence (differentials and Genitive complements of than). Yet one would wonder what underlies the distributions of synthetic and analytic forms of adjectives, and starting from that one could arrive at an explanation of the impossibility of subdeletion structures with synthetic comparatives in Russian. Following a bulk of literature (e.g., Heim (1985), Bhatt and Takahashi (2007), Bhatt and Pancheva (2004), Pancheva (2006) etc.), I take the comparative morpheme to be a quantifier over 1


degrees having the than-clause in its restrictor. Inside the than-clause the gradable predicate can be completely elided (3-a), partly elided (only the degree variable, as in (3-b)) or than can be followed by just a phrase (3-c) (Pancheva (2008)). Some analyses (e-g., Pancheva (2006)) claim that (3-c) contains no ellipsis, whereas others (Bhatt and Takahashi (2007)) notice that whether something is deleted in (3-c) or not is language-specific. Depending on the structure after than, -er can be a two-place (in (3-a) or (3-b)) or a three-place (in (3-c)) predicate. If the Russian synthetic and analytic comparatives differ along these lines, the Russian counterparts of (3-a) and (3-b) must pattern together and separately from that of (3-c). However, this is not the case. Whereas the counterparts of (3-b) and (3-c) are clearly different (cf. (4-b) and (4-c)), (3-a) can have two equally acceptable counterparts. (3) a. b. c. a. b. c. Mary is taller than [C P John is [AP d1 -tall]] The building is taller than [C P the street is [D Mary is taller than John. i i i i i i d] wide]]

eg P

(4)

(synthetic). Masa vyse, cem [C P Vanya byl [AP d1 -vysokij]]. i (analytic). Masa bolee vysokaja, cem [C P Vanya byl [AP d1 -vysokij]]. (synthetic). *Zdanije vyse, cem [C P ulica [DegP d] sirokaja]] i (analytic). ?Zdanije bolee vysokoje, cem [C P ulica [DegP d] sirokaja]] (synthetic+GEN). Masa vyse Vani. i(analytic+GEN). *Masa bolee vysokaja Vani.

There is not a two-way, but a three-way semantic and syntactic distinction between the comparative morphemes in Russian: along with a two-place -er of analytic structures, we deal with two three-place -er's of synthetic ones: one occurs in CCs (Clausal Comparatives as in (4-a)), the other in PCs (Phrasal Comparatives as in (4-c)). However, none can appear with subdeletion structures as in (4-b). The solution may lie in the mismatch between the -er type and the type of the adjective after its degree variable has been deleted and bound by the CC-internal operator.

References
Bhatt, Rajesh, and Roumyana Pancheva. 2004. Late merger of degree clauses. Linguistic Inquiry 1 ­ 45. Bhatt, Rajesh, and Shoichi Takahashi. 2007. Direct comparisons: Resurrecting the direct analysis of phrasal comparatives. A talk given at SALT 17, University of Connecticut. Heim, Irene. 1985. Notes on comparatives and related matters. Ms, University of Texas, Austin. Matushansky, Ora. 2002. More of a good thing: Russian synthetic and analytic comparatives. In Proceedings of Formal Approaches to Slavic Linguistics 10, ed. Jindrich Toman. Pancheva, Roumyana. 2006. Phrasal and Clausal Comparatives in Slavic. In Formal Approaches to Slavic Linguistics: The Princeton Meeting, ed. J. Lavine, S. Franks, M. Tasseva-Kurktchieva, and H. Filip. Pancheva, Roumyana. 2008. The syntax and semantics of comparison. A course given at NYI, St.Petersburg. 2