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<p>Dear Mira,</p>
<p>first, a request for conceptual clarification. You seem to be
contrasting 'some' as a scalar quantifier to 'some' as a
determiner. Is the latter the same as an indefinite pronoun? Such
forms as Engl. <i>some</i>, Latin <i>aliquot</i> etc. etc. are
commonly used both as determiners and as pronouns s.s. (i.e.,
representing an NP). And if so, do you have a criterion to
distinguish the quantifier from the pronoun? I am asking because
they seem to be coded by the same forms and to have the same
distribution in several languages.<br>
</p>
<p>Now, the standard German forms for the quantifier are <i>einige</i>
and <i>etliche</i>. The etymological dictionary of German
(<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.dwds.de/d/wb-etymwb">https://www.dwds.de/d/wb-etymwb</a>) categorizes both as indefinite
pronouns. <i>Einige</i> is an adjectival derivation in <i>-ig</i>
of the base <i>ein</i> 'one'. Interestingly, the derivation
allows the word to be plural despite the meaning of its base,
which reminds one of the grammaticalization fate of <i>uno/unos</i>
in Spanish. <i>Etliche</i> comprises a formative <i>et-</i> of
unclear indefinite function and -- to my mind more plausibly than
an adjectival derivation in <i>-lich</i> -- a reduced form of the
indefinite pronoun <i>welche</i> 'some' (< 'which'). So these
German quantifiers are clearly based on indefinite forms.</p>
<p>A better year to everybody,</p>
<p>Christian<br>
</p>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
<p style="font-size:90%">Prof. em. Dr. Christian Lehmann<br>
Rudolfstr. 4<br>
99092 Erfurt<br>
<span style="font-variant:small-caps">Deutschland</span></p>
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