Foregrounding of Degrees of Comparison

Degrees of comparison can also be foregrounded. Such foregrounding may be achieved in two ways: either by semantic or by morphological violation of the norm. The semantic violation of the norm is applied to descriptive adjectives which by virtue of their semantics do not admit of comparison. Yet for the sake of expressiveness they are used either in the comparative or in the superlative degrees.

“Very good, sir”, said the groom, at his most wooden, and sprang down into the road. (Georgette Heyer)

It should be pointed out that in this vase the superlative degree with the preposition “at” and a possessive pronoun forms a special model and is used absolutely as an elative, which implies that the object described possesses a certain quality beyond comparison.

“Слушаюсь, сэр”, сказал грум с самым, что ни на есть деревянным выражением лица и спрыгнул на дорогу.

The meaning of the elative is rendered by a colloquial intensifier (что ни на есть).

Another example of semantic violation:

The station is more daunting than the Gare du Nord: golder, grander.

(E.Bowen)

Этот вокзал подавляет своим великолепием больше чем Северный вокзал в Париже, он еще более золотой, еще более пышный.

The device is preserved in the translation.

The foregrounding of descriptive adjectives is sometimes found in newspapers style as well.

The report’s proposals were handed over to a much more ”political” committee…

Предложение доклада были переданы комитету, который ведал политикой на гораздо более высоком уровне.

The inverted commas indicate that newspapers style is more conventional than imaginative prose.

Morphological violation may be described as violation of established grammatical norms for stylistic purposes and the degrees of comparison become functionally charged.

“Curiouser and curioser”, said Alice. (Lewis Carroll)

Polixena Solovieva, the translator, takes recourse to the same device.

“Cтранче и странче”, сказала Алиса.

“Annie, could you give me a quart of coffee in a carton?”

“It’ll have to be two points, Eth.”

“Good. Even gooder ”. (J.Stainbeck)

“Анни, дай мне кварту кофе в пакете”.

“У меня пакеты по две пинты”.

“Ладно, даже распреладно”.