The adverb relativamente ('reletively') and the comparison classes

Abstract

This article focuses on showing the underlying inferential processes needed for the interpretation of an utterance when the adverb relatively is used. This word is frequently combined together with adjectives and (other) adverbs that express properties. These properties have a quantitative value that always needs to be adjusted with respect to a unique class of reference. However, relativamente is used to stress the fact that there are two relevant categories of reference to which the value of the adjective or adverb can be related: for the first of these categories, it is pertinent to add the property to which these words are related. On the contrary, the second category does not need to be clarified. Therefore, by the statement El sol es una estrella relativamente cercana a la Tierra (‘The Sun is a star relatively close to the Earth’) we theoretically understand that the Sun is close to the Earth if we compare its location with other similar celestial bodies. However, the adverb relativamente warns the listener that, in relation to another category that it would also be important to enable as a contrast (probably, those objects which we frequently interact with), the distance between these two bodies would never be defined as close.