The establishment of quantifier constructions for size nouns

Abstract

Based on exhaustive diachronic corpus data, this paper determines the relative chronology in which the size nounsheap(s)andlot(s)have developed quantifier uses within NPofNP-syntagms, as inheaps / a lot of people. Using a constructional approach, it is claimed that size nouns occur in three distinct constructions or form–meaning pairings identified on the basis of systematic syntactic, semantico-pragmatic and collocational features. I argue that in order to establish which size noun was first to develop a quantifier use, we have to analyse diachronic data sets in terms of three constructions, viz. lexical head, partitive and quantifier constructions. In doing so, I will argue against the claim thatheapdeveloped its quantifier use first, around 1300, whilelotdeveloped one only around 1800. I will show thatheapandlot(s)appear in an early partitive construction, c1300 and c1200, respectively, in which they are head nouns and have a collective sense. The quantifier construction in whichheap(s)andlot(s)have modifier status and assess quantity similar to canonical quantifiermany/muchappears around the same time for both, viz. c1780.

The use ofheapsas quantifier and intensifier in New Zealand English

“…Let us begin by considering raw frequencies of occurrence for a comparison with earlier work (but a more quantitatively informed approach will be presented later in this section). The Wellington Corpora show, in agreement with Smith (2009: 173) and Brems (2012: 143–5), that heaps often occurs with NOUN 2 people (see table 3). The table also specifies the raw number collocates of heaps used as adverb (for collocates occurring 3 or more times with heaps ).…”

“…In general, the most comprehensive account of the grammaticalization trajectory which has brought heaps to its new function is detailed in Brems (2010, 2012). Like lots and bunch , heaps has undergone a number of changes in both syntactic patterns and semantic considerations, summarized in figure 4 from Brems; the interested reader is referred to her original paper for full details of the process (2010: 92–6).…”

“…2 Head nouns, size nouns and evaluative nouns As discussed in Smith (2009), expressions of the type bags (of), bunches (of), lots (of), heaps (of) appear in the literature under a number of labels, including nonnumerical quantifiers (Smith 2009), open-class quantifiers (Quirk et al 1985: 264), quantifying nouns (Biber et al 1999: 252), number-transparent quantificational nouns (Huddleston & Pullum 2002: 349-50), non-partitive scalar quantificational nouns (Radden & Dirven 2007: 131) and relative quantifiers (Langacker 2010: 6). The most comprehensive study of quantifiers in English comes from Brems (2010Brems ( , 2011Brems ( , 2012 and here, I follow her terminology of 'size noun' to refer to uses of heaps in New Zealand English.…”

A couple (of) changes in the ‘Brown family’: British and US English compared

“…The grammaticalisation literature has examined a number of specifi c N 1 nouns, both synchronically and diachronically: jot of/scrap of/fl icker of (Brems 2007); bunch(s) heap(s), pile(s), lot(s), load(s) (Brems 2011); heaps (of), lots (of) (Brems 2012); a lot of/lots of (Smith 2009); a piece/bit/ shred of (Traugott 2007); a kind/bit/shred (Traugott 2008). With respect to the path the change follows, Traugott (2010: 46-48), building on Denison (2002) and on Traugott (2008: 27), identifi es 5 general stages of the change, specifi cally sketching the history of a bit (of), a piece (of) and a shred (of).…”

Quantifying binominal constructions in Portuguese and Russian: the case of "um monte de NP" and Kucha NPgen

“…The fact that (new) forms may be associated to new functions is observed in several domains, including quantification manifested in binominal constructions (TRAUGOTT, 2008;ALONSO, 2010;BREMS, 2012;VERVECKKEN, 2015;RAKHILINA, 2009, among others). A large group of nouns within quantifying binominal constructions -such monte ('heap'), chuva ('rain'), in Portuguese, or kucha ('heap'), morie ('sea'), in Russian -could be included in the class of quantifiers.…”