Degrees and grammar


 In this article, we discuss some fundamental issues as well as several unresolved questions of degree-based
 theories in contemporary linguistics from the perspective of East Asian languages, with a view to pointing out some directions for
 future research. We first focus on several controversies surrounding the studies of comparative constructions in the literature,
 i.e., phrasal comparison vs. clausal comparison, individual comparison vs. degree comparison, big DegP vs. small DegP, the points
 of cross-linguistic variation, etc. We then expand the discussion to comparative constructions and other degree-related
 constructions in Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, and demonstrate how an East Asian perspective offers a novel insight into
 those controversies and uncovers considerable in-depth commonality underlying a variety of degree-related constructions
 cross-linguistically. We conclude by suggesting some directions for future within- and cross-linguistic research.