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Abstract:

In this introductory chapter the similarities and differences in the development and the current behavior of the adjective in Germanic and Romance, both within and between the languages families, are discussed. A deeper analysis suggests that what seem to be differences might in fact be similarities and vice versa. Topics that are discussed are the emergence of the adjective as a category, the distinction between attributive and predicative adjectives, the position of adjectives within the noun phrase, and adjectival inflection. This introduction forms the basis for the chapters that follow and in which current visions on variation and change with respect to the adjective in Germanic and Romance are presented in more detail.