Degrees and scales of Kunbarlang

Abstract

This paper discusses novel data from the non-Pama-Nyungan language Kunbarlang in the domain of degree semantics. I show these data to be problematic for an influential typological account couched within the degree-based framework by Beck et al. (2009). I propose an alternative that builds on the delineation approach in the spirit of Klein (1980), and in particular on recent developments employing measurement theory, such as van Rooij 2011b. The proposed solution both accounts for Kunbarlang data and offers a basis for an alternative semantic typology of comparative constructions.