Vergleiche und Vergleichen: Eine Studie zu Form und Funktion der Vergleichsstrukturen im Deutschen

On the basis of an extensive corpus the study analyzes comparative structures in German. Proceeding from an examination of the elements necessary for a comparison, their formal characteristics are described and a typology of comparative structures proposed. In addition, their functional features are closely examined, thus leading to a closer characterization of the speech act 'comparing' and its interactions. In this way the study provides significant insights into the form and function of comparative structures, an area largely neglected so far.