ABSTRACT
In Swahili language, comparison is expressed in terms of "equality", "superiority", and "superiority to all", in reference to an adjective or an adverb. The "superlative" comparison uses the same comparators as the "superiority" comparison, with -ote "all" as the second term of comparison. In this context, -ote "all" adopts the class of the first term of comparison in the plural, which suggests an underlying structure of the form "X. (adjective/adverb) more than all Xs". In addition to expressing explicit comparison, the conjunction zaidi may be used alone, in exclamatory or locative phrases, to express implicit superiority to all. Comparisons which express superiority use the conjunctions zaidi ya "more than" and kuliko "rather than" (or zaidi kuliko "more; compared to"), and infinitive forms such as kupita "surpassing", kuzidi "exceeding", and kushinda "beating (defeating)".
