Viewed in this way , gradable adjectives are an extreme example of the `` efficiency of language '' ( Barwise and Perry 1983 ) : Far from meaning something concrete like `` larger than 8 cm '' -- a concept that would have very limited applicability -- or even something more general like `` larger than the average N , '' a word like large is applicable across a wide range of different situations .
situations and attitudes
Jon Barwise John Perry
the adjective to be semantically equivalent to the superlative form ( and , analogously , the comparative ) : The n large mice = The largest n mice The large mice = The largest mice The large mouse = The largest mouse . Viewed in this way , gradable adjectives are an extreme example of the `` efficiency of language '' ( Barwise and Perry 1983 ) : Far from meaning something concrete like `` larger than 8 cm '' -- a concept that would have very limited applicability -- or even something more general like `` larger than the average N , '' a word like large is applicable across a wide range of different situations .
Viewed in this way , gradable adjectives are an extreme example of the `` efficiency of language '' ( @@CITATION ) : Far from meaning something concrete like `` larger than 8 cm '' -- a concept that would have very limited applicability -- or even something more general like `` larger than the average N , '' a word like large is applicable across a wide range of different situations .