29_Degree & Comparison

Navigation:

• Back to Structural Sets in Asaxi

---

Grammatical Concept: Spatial Degree

Asaxi handles Degree (“Very”, “Most”, “About”) and Comparison (“More than”, “Equal to”) using three distinct systems:

1. Prefixing: Modifies the Adjective/Adverb itself to show intensity or rank.
2. Correlative Particles: Connects two Nouns to compare them against each other in a sentence.
3. Compound Comparatives: Fuses the comparison (Reference + Quality) into a single descriptive word.

The logic follows the spatial metaphors of the language: Up/Stacking (na) is “More,” Down/Below (pù) is “Less,” and Line/Level (bi) is “Equal.”

---

1. Degree Prefixes (Intensity)

These prefixes attach directly to the Adjective or Adverb (-nă / -nýj).

A. General Degree

• Very (xă-): “Truly X.” / “Indeed X.”
  • Example: xădănă (Very big / Truly huge).
• About / Approximately (me-): “Roughly X.”
  • Etymology: Derived from the discourse marker me (Skepticism).
  • Example: medănă (About as big / Roughly big).

B. Comparative Degree (Internal)

Used to describe a change in state or relative quality without explicitly naming the other object.

• More (na-): “Stacked X” / “Increased X.”
  • Example: nadănă (Bigger / More heavily).
• Less (pù-): “Below X” / “Decreased X.”
  • Example: pùdănă (Smaller / Less heavily).

C. Superlative Degree (Source Agreement)

To say “Most” or “Least,” the prefix must agree with the Warmth of the adjective’s source noun (duplicating the suffix at the front).

Degree	Warm Source (e.g., dănă)	Cold Source (e.g., gonýj)	Logic
Most	nă-	nýj-	Prefix matches Suffix.
Least	năná-	nýjnè-	Prefix + Negation.

• Example (Warm): nădănă (The biggest / Most heavily).
• Example (Cold): nýjnègonýj (The least big / Least greatly).

D. The Augmentative (dă-)

Used to express physical magnitude, volume, or gross intensity (“Big/Much”).

• Structure: dă-[Root]
• Contrast:
  • xăgavină (Truly good - Quality).
  • dăgavină (Very good - Quantity/Scale).

---

2. Comparative Coordinators (Comparing Nouns)

To compare two nouns (“John vs. Tom”), Asaxi uses a Correlative Structure.

Formula:

[Marker] [Noun A] + [Complement] [Noun B]

A. Equality (“As X as…“)

Equality can be expressed using either Line/Level (bi) or Middle/Center (ỏ).

• Marker: bi OR ỏ.
• Complement: zá (With).

Bi John zá Tom apa dănă chỏnů. “John and Tom munch on apples as much as one another.” (Lit: Level John with Tom…).

ỏ John zá Tom apa dănă chỏnů. “John and Tom… (same meaning).” (Lit: Center John with Tom…).

B. Superiority (“More X than…“)

• Marker: nani (Upward).
• Complement: izo (From).
• Logic: “Towards the top A, from (the standard of) B.”

Nani John izo Tom apa dănă chỏnů. “John eats apples more heavily than Tom.”

C. Inferiority (“Less X than…“)

• Marker: pùni (Downward).
• Complement: izo (From).
• Logic: “Towards the bottom A, from (the standard of) B.”

Pùni John izo Tom apa dănă chỏnů. “John eats apples less heavily than Tom.”

3. Compound Comparative Adjectives (Simile Compounds)

This system allows speakers to create complex adjectives by fusing the Reference Object and the Quality into a single word.

Formula:

[Prefix] + [Reference Object] + [Quality Noun]

The Prefixes:

• ỏ- OR bi-: Equal to / “As X as.”
• na-: More than / “Out-X-ing.”
• pù-: Less than.

Usage Examples

A. Speed Comparisons (Root: ŕănabi)

• ỏjýnoŕănabi / bijýnoŕănabi
  • Meaning: “At the speed of sound” / “Sonic.” (Equal to Sound-Speed).])]
• ỏjhecèŕănabi
  • Meaning: “At the speed of a jet.”

B. Sound Comparisons (Root: jýno)

• najýnnjýno
  • Components: na (More) + jýnnshá (Hyena) + jýno (Sound).
  • Meaning: “Louder than a hyena.”
  • Note: the creature word -shá gets dropped in compounds

---

Summary Table

Comparison	Marker (Start)	Complement (Middle)	Compound Prefix
Equal	bi / ỏ	zá	ỏ- / bi-
More	nani	izo	na-
Less	pùni	izo	pù-