Comparatives and Superlatives in Luo
Melissa McConachie
  
1. Comparatives 
1.1 Basic Noun Phrase 
The basic form for a comparative noun phrase in Luo is Noun + Adjective. For 
example: 
    (1) guOk maduON  
                dog bigger  
                'a bigger dog' 
     
There is no structural difference between this construction and a regular Noun + 
Adjective construction. 
1.2 Comparative Predication 
1.2.1 /ne/ 
A comparative predication often includes the form /ne/ 'than' when making a 
comparison between two things. Here is the construction using /ne/: 
    Subject + Adjective/Property + /ne/ + Object/Standard of Comparison 
      (2) a - tIn ne in  
                1SG-small than 2SG  
                'I am smaller than you.' 
     
This example is the long form, according to our consultant. It is also possible 
to fuse the /ne/ to the bound pronominal object in spoken Luo, such as in the 
following example:  
    (3) a - tIn n -i  
                1SG-small than-2SG  
                'I am smaller than you.' 
     
It is possible to combine /ne/ with a possessive construction containing /mar-/. 
For example:  
    (4) guog -a duoNg ne mar -i  
                dog -1SG big than of -2SG  
                'My dog is bigger than your dog.' 
     
In Example (4), both the subject and the object of comparison are possessed 
entities. The fact that 'you' have a dog -- and one that is smaller than 'my' 
dog -- is understood through the /mar-/ construction. 
1.2.2 /moloyo/ 
The other type of comparative predication involves the verb /loyo/, 'to surpass, 
defeat.' It is very common in African languages to use a verb of surpassing in 
forming the comparative. This verb can be both transitive and intransitive, with 
both lexical and pronominal subjects and objects (as applicable). Here are some 
examples of it being used as a main verb:  
    (5) a -loyo  
                1SG-surpass  
                'I come first / I win.' 
                 (6) a -loy -E  
                1SG-surpass -3SG  
                'I defeat/beat him/her.' 
                (7) dicuo o -loyo guOk  
                man 3SG-surpass dog  
                'The man defeats/surpasses the dog.' 
     
Example (7), though, reveals one difference between /loyo/ and the typical Luo 
verb: there is both a lexical and a pronominal subject marked. We are still 
investigating the significance of this phenomenon. 
In a comparative sentence, /loyo/ changes a little; it becomes /ma o-loyo/, or, 
in the more common shortened form, /moloyo/. There are two possible ways to 
describe this comparative form: as a relative clause or as an 
adjectival/participial clause. In the case of the relative clause, /moloyo/ can 
be translated as 'the one who surpasses/the one who is a surpassor.' This is the 
general construction using /moloyo/ using the explanation of the relative 
clause: 
    Subject + Adjective/Quality + /moloyo/ + Object/Standard of Comparison
In the following example, the longer form of /moloyo/ is used. Often our 
consultant would draw out things that would usually be more concise to 
facilitate our elicitations. 
    (8) O-bor ma o -loyo nyako-no  
                3SG-big REL 3SG-surpass girl -this  
                'He is taller than this girl.' 
     
By virtue of the definition of a relative clause, there must be an entity by 
which something is predicated -- and it is often a head noun. Because Luo can 
turn certain properties into verbs when a bound pronominal prefix is added (see 
discussion of property constructions in 1.2.3), /O-bor/ is not a noun but a 
complete clause. Thus, it would be improbable to somehow label /O-bor/ as a head 
noun; it is obviously not one. But if you take the essence of /O-bor/ and 
translate it as 'his tallness...' instead, there is a head noun. Therefore, it 
is possible to reference the relativizer /ma/ to this noun and satisfy the rules 
of a relative clause. The literal translation of (8) would be: '[He is tall] his 
tallness which surpasses this girl.' This explanation is consistent with the way 
/ma/ is used in other contexts in Luo -- as a relativizer. 
I also want to note that in Luo the compared quality is carried throughout the 
sentence even if it does not lexically appear again. That is, in Example (8), it 
is implied that it is the girl's tallness that we are comparing. It is not 
necessary to reiterate /bOr/ in reference to the girl. 
Here is another example: 
    '(9) olEmo - na ber moloyo olEmo - ni  
                fruit -1SG.POSS pretty surpass fruit - 2SG.POSS  
                'My fruit is prettier/looks better than your fruit.'
     
This example has both a lexical subject and object. In most cases of predicated 
comparisons with /moloyo/, the verb form /moloyo/ is transitive because Luo 
wants to compare the subject to something and not just leave the comparison 
ambiguous. /moloyo/ can occur with pronominal subjects and objects, too. For 
example: 
    (10)  
                 o-bOr ma o -loyo nyako-no  
                3SG-tall REL 3SG-surpass girl -that  
                'He is taller than that girl.' (11)  
                 o -bOr moloy -E  
                3SG-tall surpass-3SG  
                'He is taller than her.' 
     
Example (10) has both a pronominal subject and lexical object, and /moloyo/ is 
in the longer form because Rose was emphasizing its parts for a clearer 
elicitation. Example (11) has a bound pronominal object, and the final /-o/ of 
/moloyo/ disappears. In accordance with the pattern for transitive verbs, the 
/-o/ does not appear with singular object pronouns and is optional with plural 
ones (such as in Example 19 below). 
The other way to explain the presence of /ma/ is to label /ma/ + property an 
adjectival participle. That is, the /ma/ causes the following /o-loyo/ to become 
a participle: 'surpassing.' This explanation would lead to a revision of Example 
(8): 
    (12) o-bOr ma o -loyo nyako-no  
                3SG-big ADJ 3SG-surpassing girl -this  
                He is taller than this girl. 
     
A literal translation of (12) would be: 'He is tall, surpassing this girl.' This 
explanation eliminates the problem of the lack of a head noun for the relative 
clause because when there is a participle, it can refer back to just the 
subject-part of the initial clause. 
As I am not totally satisfied with either of these explanations, I will continue 
to gloss /ma/ as a relativizer for the sake of consistency. 
1.2.3. Property Concepts 
Many comparisons involve property concepts. It is possible to express property 
concepts as verbs or adjectives. Both lexical and bound pronominal subjects can 
be used. The most prototypical type of property concept is something that is 
actually a property, such as size. This is the general construction: 
    Subject + Property + Comparison Marker + Object
But other things can be expressed as properties in Luo, such as states of being 
and activities, when they are plugged into this construction. I will begin with 
examples of the most prototypical type -- basic properties. For example:  
    (13) a -bOr moloy -i  
                1SG-tall surpass-2SG  
                'I am taller than you.'(14) o -Nwan moloy -E  
                3SG-kind surpass-3SG  
                'He is kinder than her.'
     
The properties /bOr/ and /Nwan/ can be adjectives in Luo, but they can also be 
expressed as verbs when they are conjugated, as they are in Examples (13) and 
(14). 
In a less prototypical sense, perceptual states can be expressed as verbs. The 
following sentences present perceptual states:  
    (15) o -mEt  
                3SG-taste  
                'It tastes.'(16) o -pEk  
                3SG-weigh  
                'It weighs.'
     
Example (15) implies that the taste, though either good or bad, is something; in 
Luo it would be something tasting good. Example (16) suggests that something 
weighs either a lot, or a little, but something. I would suggest that, 
semantically, it makes more sense for this something to be heavy. That which 
these sentences imply is the property of the comparative construction. Below are 
some examples of this aspect of property concepts: 
    (17)  
                 olEmo -na mEt moloyo olEmo-ni  
                fruit -1SG.POSS taste surpass fruit -2SG.POSS  
                'My fruit tastes better than your fruit.' 
                 
                (18)  
                 bugE-ni pEk moloyo bugE -no  
                book-this weigh surpass book-that  
                'This book weighs more/is heavier than that book.'
     
The final type of property concept construction involves activities where the 
compared quality is an adverb. For example:  
    (19) wa-riNgo ma -piyo moloy -gI  
                1PL-run REL-fast surpass-3PL  
                'We run faster than them.'
     
In general, there are few examples of plural pronominal objects in the data. The 
form /ne/ can be used in addition to /moloyo/ in comparisons involving a 
property, hence 'Comparison Marker' rather than only /moloyo/. I will discuss 
the use of /ne/ and /moloyo/ together in the next section. 
1.2.4. /ne/ and /moloyo/ 
Most examples in the data use only /moloyo/ in the comparison. The only time 
/ne/ is used is in talking about size, and in a few of these cases, /moloyo/ 
follows /ne/. There are only five instances of /ne/ (in conjunction with size) 
in all the data. For example: 
    (20) olEmo-na duONg ne moloyo olEmo-ni  
                fruit -1SG.POSS big than surpass fruit -2SG.POSS  
                'My fruit is older (lit. bigger) than your fruit.' 
                 
                (21) olEmo-na duONg (ne) moloyo olEmo-ni  
                fruit -1SG.POSS big (than) surpass fruit -2SG.POSS  
                'My fruit is bigger than your fruit.'
     
In Example (21), Rose said that the /ne/ is optional. Yet it seems that when it 
is definitely present, it forces /duONg/ to mean 'older than,' but when it is 
only optional, it means 'bigger than.' As the following example shows, when only 
/ne/ is present, and /moloyo/ is absent, /duONg/ means 'older than.'  
    (22) nyaTi -na duONg nyaTi -ni  
                child-1SG.POSS big child-2SG.POSS  
                'My child is older than your child.'
     
Apparently this one word, /duONg/, is polysemous, and the choice of comparison 
marker is affected by its meaning. 
Examples (2) and (3) are the final two of the five comparatives regarding size. 
Both of them lack /moloyo/. 
2. Superlatives 
The general form for the superlative construction is: 
    Subject + Quality + /moloyo/ 
      (23) a -bOr moloyo  
                1SG-tall surpass  
                'I am the tallest.'
     
This form is can also be translated as 'I am taller,' which is the intransitive 
comparative construction, but through context, it must be obvious what the 
speaker means. An example of a context-based superlative sentence follows: 
    (24) a -nyalo cik -Ora malo moloyo ji -te  
                1SG-can jump-REFL up surpass people-all  
                'I can jump the highest of all people.'
     
Because of /ji-te/, it is apparent that this sentence should be interpreted as a 
superlative construction. It is common within the superlative construction to 
employ a relative clause and a copula to make superlative predication. This is 
the structure: 
    Subject + /e-ma/ + Quality + /moloyo/ 
      (25) an e -ma bOr moloyo  
                1SG COP-REL big surpass  
                'I am the tallest person.'
     
Compare (25) with (26) to see the difference between the predication and no 
predication: 
    (26) Nat ma -bOr moloyo En Rose  
                person REL-big surpass 3SG Rose  
                'The tallest person is Rose.'
     
Example (26) has the superlative statement in the subject; it is an equative 
where 'Rose' is in the predicate. There is a relative clause beginning with /ma/ 
that adds description to the subject /Nat/ 'person.' Example (25) has the 
superlative statement in the predicate; this is the superlative predication. To 
predicate a superlative, it is necessary to use a free pronoun (or other noun, I 
suppose) and a linker or copula between the free pronoun and the characteristic 
/bOr/ 'big/tall.' That copula is the /e-/. 
    (27) an e -ma wOiyo ma-lEr moloyo  
                1SG COP -REL speak clear surpass  
                'I speak the clearest.'
     
Example (27) shows that this superlative construction works with adverbs, too. 
Also, there is a verb /wOiyo/ inserted into the superlative construction; it is 
not bound to equative statements. 
  
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