Polar opposition and the ontology of 'degrees'

This paper uses the distribution and interpretation of antonymous adjective s in comparative constructions as an empirical basis to argue that abstract representations of measurement, or 'degrees,' must be modelled as interval s on a scale, rather than as points, as commonly assumed. I begin by demons trating that the facts in this domain must be accounted for in terms of the interaction of the semantics of adjectival polarity and the semantics of t he comparative, rather than principles governing the (overt) expression of particular types of adjectives in comparatives. I then show that a principl ed account of the full range of data under consideration can be constructed within a model in which degrees are formalized as intervals on a scale and adjectival polarity is characterized in terms of two structurally distinct and complementary sorts of 'positive' and 'negative' degrees.