The Comparative Structure Of Vici Lisu Language

Comparison is one of the characteristics of human language, and it is not only an important grammatical phenomenon, but a mechanism of human cognition as well. Coparative in linguistics defines a syntactic construction that serves to express similarities and difference by a comparison between two(or more) items or groups of entities in quality, quantity, or degree. Cross-linguistically, Different languages use different strategies to express comparison.From the views of linguistic typology, this thesis aims at systematically describing and analyzing the classification, semantic mechanism and morphosyntactic characteristics of comparative consruction in the Weixi variety of Lisu. In this thesis, the author presents the synchronic features and the diachronic features of the comparative consruction in the Weixi variety of Lisu. This study also provides the first-hand data for typology of the comparative consruction and historical linguistics. I classify the comparative constructions as comparative, equational and superlative of Weixi Lisu in terms of the functions of comporison in this thesis.The first chapter introduces the aims at this thesis and the definition of comparison, the ethnological background of Weixi Lisu, previous research on the compative construction, research methodology and data collection, etc.In chapter 2, we describe and analyze formal structures, word order, semantics, morphosyntax, and pragmatics of the comparative constructions in the Wexi variety of Lisu. We also provide how locational nouns grammaticalize into comparative marker.Chapter 3 mainly discusses subtypes of equative comparative constructions and their formal markers, semantic and syntactic functions in Weixi Lisu.In chapter 4, we provide structural types and syntactic properties of superlative constructions in Weixi Lisu.Finally, I summarize some outcomes of this research and suggest some issues of the comparison need to be further studied in the future.