Comparative study of degrees of comparison in english and karakalpak adjectives

Аннотация

This article presents a comparative analysis of the degrees of comparison in English and Karakalpak adjectives, focusing on their grammatical structures, morphological formations, and syntactic usage. While both languages recognize three main degrees—positive, comparative, and superlative—they differ significantly in how these forms are constructed and applied. English employs a mix of inflectional endings, auxiliary words, and irregular forms, whereas Karakalpak, as an agglutinative language, relies on suffixes and intensifiers governed by vowel harmony. The article also explores semantic and pragmatic aspects of comparison and discusses the implications for language learning and bilingual education. Through this contrastive study, educators and linguists can better understand the structural dynamics and teaching strategies appropriate for learners of both languages. Keywords: English adjectives, Karakalpak adjectives, degrees of comparison, comparative grammar, superlative, language learning, morphology, syntax, bilingual education, contrastive analysis Introduction. Language is a fundamental tool for expressing thoughts, emotions, and evaluations of the surrounding world. One such evaluative linguistic tool is the adjective, which allows speakers to describe qualities, states, and characteristics. A particularly important grammatical feature of adjectives is their ability to express degrees of comparison. This article aims to conduct a comparative analysis of the degrees of comparison in English and Karakalpak adjectives, highlighting both the similarities and differences between the two languages. Furthermore, the study emphasizes how linguistic typology, morphological structure, and syntactic rules influence adjective comparison. In English, adjectives have three degrees of comparison: the positive, comparative, and superlative degrees. The positive degree represents the base form (e.g., tall), the comparative is used to compare two items (e.g., taller), and the superlative denotes the highest degree among three or more entities (e.g., tallest). Typically, one-syllable adjectives form the comparative by adding -er and the superlative by adding -est. For example: • fast → faster → fastest • cold → colder → coldest However, when adjectives have two or more syllables, especially those ending in -ful, -ous, or - ing, the comparative and superlative are formed using more and most. For example: • beautiful → more beautiful → most beautiful • interesting → more interesting → most interesting It is important to note that English also contains irregular adjectives that do not follow the standard patterns. These include: • good → better → best • bad → worse → worst • far → farther/further → farthest/furthest Moreover, English allows the use of intensifiers such as much, far, and a lot to emphasize the degree of comparison, e.g., much better, far worse. These modifiers add expressive richness to comparative structures. 80 STUDENTLERDI BIRLESTIRIW: XALÍQARALÍQ IZERTLEWLER HÁM PÁNLER BOYINSHA BIRGE ISLESIW 1-XALÍQARALÍQ STUDENTLER KONFERENCIYASÍ. NÓKIS, 2025-JÍL 20-21-MAY Similarly, the Karakalpak language also categorizes adjectives into three degrees of comparison. However, the morphological strategies differ significantly due to the agglutinative nature of Karakalpak, a Turkic language. The positive degree (jaqsi – good) is the base form. To express the comparative degree, Karakalpak usually uses the adverb daǵıraaq or the suffix -raq/-rek, which is added to the adjective stem depending on vowel harmony: • uzın → uzınraq (long → longer) • jaqsi → jaqsiraq (good → better) [2, 320-325]. In terms of the superlative degree, Karakalpak employs two main strategies. One is the addition of the prefix eń, meaning “the most”, as in: 1. eń jaqsi (the best) 2. eń sulıw (the most beautiful) Alternatively, the comparative suffix may be used with an adverbial intensifier to achieve a superlative-like meaning. For example: • ńaǵız jaqsiraq (really better, i.e., much better) It is also worth noting that the Karakalpak language does not rely heavily on irregular forms; instead, it maintains a regular morphological system for comparison. This consistency facilitates learning but may limit expressive variation in comparison to English. In English, the placement of comparative and superlative adjectives is relatively fixed: they typically precede the noun they modify. For example: − a bigger house, the most interesting book On the other hand, Karakalpak follows a different syntactic structure. The adjective also precedes the noun, but the comparative or superlative marker often appears before or within the adjective, and the modifiers daǵıraaq or eń can precede the entire adjective phrase: • eń sulıw qız (the most beautiful girl) • jaqsiraq adam (a better person) [5, 180-182]. In both languages, the comparative can also be expressed using conjunctions. In English, than is used: She is taller than her brother. In Karakalpak, qaragand