A typological study of adjective distribution

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This study explores the distribution of adjectives across Altaic, Germanic, and Sino-Tibetan languages through the lens of ‘scale structure’. Findings indicate that Mongolian adjectives in resultatives range from ‘Totally open-scale AP’ to ‘Totally closed-scale AP’. Japanese adjectives are reclassified into two types: open-scale (traditional i-adjective) and closed-scale (traditional na-adjective), both capable of producing inherent results. In German, the acceptability of adjectival phrases (APs) in direct perceptual complements varies from ‘Upper closed-scale AP/Lower closed-scale AP’ to ‘Totally closed-scale AP/Totally open-scale AP’. English adjectives in perception expressions show no significant variation in acceptability. In Chinese, Upper closed-scale APs do not align well with closed-scale perceptual verbs, though this can be remedied by adding tense or syntactic context. Lower closed-scale APs also struggle to associate with closed-scale perceptual verbs. The study proposes that Altaic languages are EVENTUALITY-prominent, while Chinese and Germanic languages lean towards STATE-prominence. This typological analysis highlights the intricate relationships between language structure and adjective distribution across different linguistic families.