multiplicity

[Charles Doyle]

Just casually (with the speaker making no attempt at precision) in sentences like "She phoned me multiple times," or "We drank multiple beers last night," or "I've run in multiple races," or "There are multiple reasons why I couldn't get it done." What I was thinking is that the multiple differences, connotatively and denotatively, among the various adjectives expresssing 'many-ness' are leveled into the word "multiple."

--Charlie
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---- Original message ----

>Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2007 18:36:50 +0000
>From: ronbutters at AOL.COM >

>Well, the expressions all have different meanings\connotations, and some contexts (e.g., "multiple orgasms") none of the other words would do. Could. U give some examples?
>
>------Original Message------

>From: Charles Doyle
>
>This is not directly relevant to the current discussion of number-agreement, though that discussion brought this matter to my mind:
>
>Have y'all noticed, in recent years, that teenagers and young adults (orally, at least) seem to be preferring the adjective "multiple" to "many," "numerous," "lots of," or even "several"?
>
>--Charlie

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