[Lingtyp] Approximative numerals with emotive content

[Jess Tauber]

Yahgan (a nearly extinct genetic isolate from Tierra del Fuego) has (or
had) the form ma:nara (colon : marks tenseness of vowel preceding) which
appears to denote 'more than (someone or something else), as when someone
is in a rivalry situation, even if they don't know it. And it has an
emotive connotation, since of the several example sentences given in the
dictionary (which is all we have) has the speaker complaining about it.
hu:lu: sa ma:nara la:ride: amaim, hai ba:f ku:kan  big/large you (sg.)
much-more gathered-and-carried-in-a-skin-past tense fruit/fungus, I not
same  = What a lot of fruit/tree fungus you got and brought home, so much
more than I did.' Etymologically it seems to be composed of mana- 'beyond'
(the usual limits) plus a reduced form of wuru: 'more' (such reduced forms
of wuru: appear in several internal reconstructions). sa we: ma:nara
shabagu:da:gu:a  You (sg.) may/will much-more
be-happy/enjoy-for-onself-future  'You may or will enjoy yourself without
me'. kv-ma:nara shabaguhrgaiagata, kvnjin ba:f matu:me:akonata me:am   he
(sg)- much-more happy/enjoy-progressive-for-self, he (sg.) not fear (for)
self= 'He rejoices (though no one else does) and does not fear for himself
or his own people'.

Jess Tauber


 '

On Tue, Feb 22, 2022 at 1:57 PM Riccardo Giomi <rgiomi at campus.ul.pt> wrote:

> Dear Amanda and all,
>
> How about English bajillion/bazillion and its (near-)equivalents in other
> languages, such as Italian 'fantastilione', 'fantastiliardo' (a mashup of
> 'fantastico' and 'milione/miliardo', originally coined by some translator
> of Donald Duck comics)?
>
> Apart from that, I tend to agree with Federica Mazzitelli and would add
> that, in Italian, basically any number above let's say three or four can be
> used as an emotionally loaded hyperbole, as long as the context is such
> that the number will be perceived as exceeding a plausible quantification
> of the referent at stake.
>
> Best,
> Riccardo
>
>
> Il mar 22 feb 2022, 15:28 Amanda Kann <amanda.kann at su.se> ha scritto:
>
>> Dear typologists,
>>
>>
>>
>> (Apologies to those who have already seen this query through
>> LinguistList!)
>>
>> I'm looking for corresponding expressions (in any language) to the
>> approximative numeral phrases in the examples below – conventionalized
>> numeral expressions which typically express larger, approximate numeric
>> quantities and encode some kind of emotive function.
>> I'm interested in the composition and value of these numerals, as well as
>> their emphatic and emotive functions – if there are other expressions in
>> the numeral domain in your language(s) that carry a similar illocutionary
>> force, I would love to hear about them as well!
>>
>> Swedish [swe]: (from Bloggmix 2013, accessed through
>> http://spraakbanken.gu.se/korp)
>> Det finns nämligen femtioelva sorters myror.
>> 'There are actually many types of ants' (lit. 'There are actually
>> fifty-eleven types of ants')
>>
>> French [fra]: (Lavric 2010, https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004253247_008)
>> Il n’y a pas trente-six façons de voir la chose.
>> 'There aren't very many ways of seeing the thing' (lit. 'There aren't
>> thirty-six ways of seeing the thing')
>>
>> Danish [dan]: (from OpenSubtitles2018, accessed through
>> http://opus.nlpl.eu)
>> Han fortalte mig 117 gange, at han ikke gjorde hende noget.
>> 'He told me a thousand times that he didn't do anything to her' (lit. 'He
>> told me 117 times that he didn't do anything to her')
>>
>> English [eng]: (from OpenSubtitles2018, accessed through
>> http://opus.nlpl.eu)
>> For the umpteenth time, we are not getting a dog.
>>
>>
>>
>> Thank you very much in advance for any tips, examples or comments!
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> Amanda Kann
>>
>> *____________________________________*
>>
>> *Amanda Kann*
>>
>> Institutionen för lingvistik | *Department of **Linguistics*
>>
>> *Stockholms universitet | Stockholm University*
>> 106 91 Stockholm
>>
>>
>> *amanda.kann at su.se <amanda.kann at su.se>*
>> www.ling.su.se
>>
>> Personuppgiftsbehandling vid Stockholms universitet
>> <https://www.su.se/om-webbplats-cookies/personuppgifter>
>> *____________________________________*
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