Similative and Equative Constructions in Lori Silakhori Dialect

The concept of comparison is expressed in the form of various linguistic constructions. Among the different types of comparative constructions, we can mention similative and equative constructions. In these constructions, two referential phrases, which are called comparee and standard, are compared with each other in terms of a shared characteristic (parameter). Equatives express equal extents and similatives express equal manners. In the present essay, we attempted to discuss and investigate the similative and equative constructions in Lori Silakhori. The findings confirm that the speakers mainly use 3 types of strategies to express the concept of similarity and 8 types of strategies to encode the concept of equality in Lori Silakhori. Also, the data show that there is a tendency to remove the parameter in both constructions, especially similative construction. In addition, due to the free nature of lexical order in Lori Silakhuri, it is not possible to introduce a fixed order for the elements in similative and equative constructions.