A sea of choices: lexical quantifiers in English and German

(38) As you might guess, misdiagnosis is often the first misstep in a chain of errors that continues with the next type of medical malpractice cases.

(39)So as part of a whole chain of events, involving remodeling and a roof leak, among other may-you-live-in-interesting-times life occurrences, we're getting a new roof on the house.

And finally, string is also a word that came to be used as a quantifier through the acquired meaning of “a number of objects arranged in a line”. Although it's still being applied to multitudes of physical objects arranged or connected in a line (a string of beads, a string of onions), it's more prevalent in describing a succession of various occurrences at different points in time, as seen in (40) and (41). In this type of context (vs. in its use for the physical arrangement of objects) string appears to have more emphasis on the noteworthy magnitude of the events:

(40)This attack is the latest, and most serious, in a string of attacks on Muslims [..], attacks which the police are now saying are running at eight a day compared to the usual one a day.

(41)[…] he asked us to vote for the health care reform bill -- a bill that denies immigrants the opportunity to purchase health care with their own money. It was one more in a string of disappointments for the Hispanic community […].

To reiterate the observations made about the group of English quantifiers that initially occurred as such for entities of physical nature, the majority of its members do continue to appear in that sort of context. However, while some quantifiers are now more widespread for describing a multitude of abstract notions (whether it's emotional states or various events) than physical objects,

other quantifiers remain more prevalent in use with the latter (such as pile, fleet, and stack).

The last 4 quantifiers in the English top-26 list were harder to place in one of the groups listed above, and therefore, will be discussed individually hereafter. Table 8, presented below, lists these remaining units, as well as the evolution of their compatibility with quantified entities.

The first of these quantifiers is barrage, a word that initially bore the meaning close to that of dam, i.e. an artificially made barrier in a stream, as well as the action of barring. Around the time of World War I it also came to mean “artillery fire” or more generally the discharge of a large number of projectile weapons. While still being used for describing the latter (e.g. a barrage of arrows, barrage of bullets), this quantifier now appears slightly more often to indicate a multitude of non-physical occurrences, as shown in (42)-(44). Example 43 also illustrates that barrage still sometimes carries the negative connotation, akin to the situation where one is faced with a multitude of projectiles being discharged in their direction.

(42)Of course, the movie industry has shown the dangers of [advanced technology] in a barrage of movies in the last twenty years.

(43)Over recent weeks, pop singer Rihanna has faced a barrage of criticism for apparently re-kindling her relationship with the man arrested for beating her up.

(44)He was a little worried given Alex's history with his spleen cancer and wanted to do a barrage of tests to make sure we were treating him correctly.

The next quantifier we'll address is world. This is a tricky case, because the word's meaning on its own encompasses the entirety of human existence and all the life's affairs, or humanity and the human race. Therefore, it's difficult to trace which sort of context of entity quantification may be considered as primary: the human world does include both physical objects, as well as animate creatures and people, and also all the intangible notions that people have words for describing. Another difficulty is due to the fact that the construction a world of N does not always showcase the use of world as a quantifier of multitude, as seen in (45). In that particular example, consequences and butterfly effects may simply be describing the world we live in, rather than world being an indication of a large multitude of consequences and butterfly effects present. There are, however, other cases, where world more definitively appears to indicate a presence of a large amount of things, typically of non-physical nature (ex. 46, 47).

(45)We inhabit a world of consequences and butterfly effects.

(46)While on-line computer exploration opens a world of possibilities for children, expanding their horizons and exposing them to different cultures and ways of life, they can be exposed to dangers as they hit the road exploring the information highway.

(47)The bacon is a great thing to add to a world of recipes, and the rendered fat is a great thing for frying.

Explosion is another quantifier that was difficult to categorize into the three groups previously discussed. The meaning of this word in English has evolved from “the action of driving out with violence and noise” to “going off with violence and noise”, and later to the indication of a rapid increase or development. The corpus data was able to show that in recent use as a quantifier, explosion is often seen indicating a sudden occurrence of many actions, events, information and human emotions. Examples (48)-(50) are shown below to illustrate these different types of context.

(48)They could see the type of catastrophic consequences that capitalist restoration would bring: massive impoverishment and demobilisation of the masses; […] an explosion of crime, drugs, racial division, alienation, prostitution […]

(49)Joel has emulated his idol, Sir Richard Branson, as an entrepreneur in business; specifically in the Construction & Telecoms industries. His arrival has created an explosion of excitement […].

(50)During the past five years, an explosion of information has emerged from genetic association studies of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

And finally, the last English lexical quantifier left undiscussed is litany, a term for solemn prayer or humble plea. The generalized meaning “repeated series” likely emerged due to the structure of a litany, which consists of numerous monotonous repetitions, a typical trait of Christian prayers. The corpus data shows that litany is used to describe both physical and abstract multitudes, and in more cases than not -- carries a negative connotation (as seen in examples 51-52). It also appears to be able to denote either a multitude of entities at a given moment (or rather, without referencing time altogether) (shown in ex. 51, 53), or the occurrence of a multitude of events of a particular kind over time (ex. 52). In the case of the former, the component of “repeated series” seems to cease being a part of litany's meaning as a quantifier.

(51)Instead, more commonly they are patients with multiple chronic medical problems, on a litany of medications that they may not understand, with suboptimal social support.

(52)One merely runs through a list of the less powerful nations of the world -- and several of the more powerful ones -- to observe a litany of destruction in the last 60 years: Italy, Greece, the Philippines, Indonesia, Guatemala, Iran, El Salvador, Honduras, […]

(53)Each crisis management plan considers and prepares for a litany of possibilities so that your team is prepared.

Chapter 3. German quantifiers

Similarly to the section discussing the English quantifiers above, we will start with classifying the top-25 German lexical quantifiers of multitude based on which types of entities they are used to “quantify”, as seen in the 100-sample data gathered for each lexeme from the corpus. The results of the classification are presented in Table 9 below. The system for classifying the quantified entities used for English data has proved to also work well with its German counterpart, and will not be doubled here.

The first noteworthy observation regarding the contents of Table 9 is that more than half of the top-25 German multitude quantifiers tend to appear most frequently to illustrate a large number of physical entities: the words Heer, Armee -- army, Schar -- crowd, and Horde -- horde are most widespread in contexts of describing people; a large group of words (Arsenal -- arsenal, Labyrinth -- maze, Haufen -- heap, Wand -- wall, Hagel -- hail, Wolke -- cloud) appears mostly as quantifiers of inanimate objects; and finally, Schwarm -- swarm is most often used to indicate a large number of animals. A cluster of quantifiers (Strom - stream, Meer -- sea, lake, and Ozean -- ocean) are found in roughly the same amount of examples depicting multitudes of physical objects as in those pertaining to abstract multitudes. And the remaining 10 quantifiers are more likely to be found describing non-physical multitudes. Similarly to the English data, most of the terms in the German list can be divided into three types (which coincide with the types seen when analyzing the English data), based on lexeme definitions and the hypothesised dynamic of shifts regarding which type of entity a given quantifier is used for.

The first type involves words initially related to humans and other live creatures. Table 10 lists the items in this group along with the corresponding changes in their use as a multitude quantifier for various types of entities:

The first two terms we will look at are Heer and Armee, both starting out as words denoting a large number of armed and war-trained individuals, and later used to refer to large groups of people devoid of affiliation with the military world (eine Armee von Blogschreibern -- an army of bloggers, ein Heer von Übersetzern -- an army of translators). Armee is still primarily prevalent in its primary type of context (e.g. in 56), while Heer has gained wider application: may denote not only large groups of people (typically sharing a specific trait, like occupation, as seen in 54), but may also be used for animals and inanimate objects of the same nature (ein Heer von Mücken -- an army of mosquitos, ein Heer von Velos -- army of bicycles, and also ex. 57).

(54)Ein Van bahnte sich, dirigiert von Polizisten, den Weg durch ein Heer von Journalisten, Nachbarn und Schaulustigen. -- A van, driven by the police, made its way through an army of journalists, neighbors, and onlookers.

(56)Er wurde dazu berufen eine Armee von Söldnern zu beschaffen, die dann unsere Heimat schleifen sollte. -- He was tasked with obtaining an army of mercenaries, who were to tear down our homeland.

(55)Die Szenerie in El Mina begeistert: ein Heer von Fischerbooten vor dem Hintergrund einer gut erhaltenen Sklavenburg. -- The scenery in El Mina is thrilling: an army of fishing boats in the foreground of a well-preserved Elmina castle.

(57)Die majestätischen Berge liegen unter feinstem Pulverschnee im Winterschlaf, nur eine Armee von Nadelbäumen ziert ihre Hänge. -- The majestic mountains lie in hibernation under the finest powdery snow, only an army of conifers adorn their slopes.

Schar and Horde are also part of vocabulary denoting a multitude of armed forces, and are currently still appearing primarily as quantifiers of large groups of people (e.g. 58, 60) and are occasionally used to describe animals and insects that are usually found in groups (as seen in ex. 59, 61). In the case of Horde, this choice of quantifier often tends to imply a negative connotation when describing a plurality.

(58)Mittlerweile hatte er eine Schar von Rock -, Jazz-, Country- und Soulmusikern um sich geschart und ging mit dieser "Large Band" auf Tour. -- By this point he had gathered a crowd of rock, jazz, country and soul musicians and went on tour with this "large band".

(59)Mit ihnen hatte nun wirklich niemand gerechnet: Seit Monaten frisst sich eine Schar von Bohrkäfern genüsslich durch den Kirchturm der Vareler Schloßkirche. -- No one had really expected them: for months, a crowd of bugs have eaten their way through the steeple of the Varel castle church.

(60)Wir haben bereits eine Horde von Kriegstreibern in fast allen Parteien im Bundestag - egal ob selbst überzeugt oder durch Lobbyismus verklärt. -- We already have a horde of warmongers in all Bundestag parties, whether self-convicted or converted as a result of lobbying.

(61)Schon allein die Grundidee verspricht einiges: eine Horde von Giftschlangen bewegt sich frei in einem Passagierflugzeug und sorgt natürlich für unendliches Chaos, Tod und Verderben. -- The premise itself is quite promising: a horde of venomous snakes moves freely in a passenger airplane and causes endless chaos, death, and ruin.

The final member of the first group is Schwarm -- swarm. As with its use in English, it was first used to describe multitudes of bees (ein Schwarm von Bienen) and other insects, and later started to be applied to other creatures (ein Schwarm von Fischen -- a swarm of fish, ein Schwarm von Passagiertauben -- a swarm of passenger doves), as well as humans, as seen in ex. (62), and on occasion -- for moving projectiles, as illustrated in (63).

(62)Was der ganze romantische Zirkus kostet ist schwer abzuschätzen: ein Schwarm von Richtern und Anwälten muss besoldet, bezahlt und pensioniert werden […]. -- What the whole romantic circus costs is hard to estimate: a swarm of judges and lawyers have to be remunerated, paid and pensioned.

(63)Ein Schwarm von Raketen steigt über der Barentssee auf, und auch die rasch her beigerufenen U-Boot-Jäger können das Unheil nicht verhindern. -- A swarm of missiles rises over the Barents Sea, and the rapidly summoned submarine hunters can not prevent the disaster.

As we've observed, the quantifiers in this first group remain fairly common in their primary context of use (especially Armee, Schar, and Horde), although Heer and Schwarm now have a slightly more widened scope of the types of entities they're used to describe.

The second (and most numerous) group of German lexical quantifiers that we'll tend to are the nouns with meaning directly related to “water”. Once again, this group is divided into two subgroups: the first type denotes large bodies of water (Meer -- sea, Ozean -- ocean), as well as a large accumulation of water particles in the case of Wolke -- cloud; while the second group is comprised of terms for water in visible motion, be it in a relatively horizontal manner (as in Strom -- stream, Welle -- wave, Schwall -- torrent, and Flut -- flood) or in a generally downward direction (Lawine -- avalanche, Kaskade -- cascade, Hagel -- hail). These nouns are also presented in Table 11, along with changes they've experienced in their application as lexical quantifiers.

Let's begin by looking at Wolke -- cloud. Apart from its primary use for denoting a formation of vaporized water, Wolke acquired wider application by also appearing to describe a multitude of fine-sized particles in the air (eine Wolke von Staub --a cloud of dust, eine Wolke von Pollen -- a cloud of pollen), as well as a prevalent scent (eine Wolke von Parfum -- a cloud of perfume), and also started to quantify a multitude of flying insects (eine Wolke von Mücken -- a cloud of mosquitoes), and even inanimate objects moving through air (ex. 64). And finally, Wolke appears to also emphasize a large number of people (66), as well as non-tangible notions, as seen in (65).

(64)Das war das Signal zu einer allgemeinen Flucht; die Eingeborenen stürzten sich in den Strom und durchschwammen ihn; von beiden Ufern kam ein Hagel von Kugeln , eine Wolke von Pfeilen, aber ohne Gefahr für das Luftschiff […]. -- That was the signal for a general escape; the natives rushed to the stream and swam through it; from both shores came a hail of bullets, a cloud of arrows, but without danger to the airship.

(65)Der Handwerker, der um seiner Familie willen Demütigungen und Willkür aushält, in eine Wolke von Traurigkeit gehüllt. -- The craftsman, who endures humiliation and despotism for the sake of his family, is wrapped in a cloud of sadness.

(66)Es gibt keine naturwissenschaftlichen Beweise. Aber es gibt eine Wolke von Zeugen. Wenn ich an Menschen denke wie [...] Dietrich Bonhoeffer oder an Martin Luther King, dann fühle ich mich in meiner Zuversicht gestärkt. -- There is no scientific evidence. But there is a cloud of witnesses. When I think of people like [...] Dietrich Bonhoeffer or Martin Luther King, I feel strengthened in my confidence.

The next two quantifiers are Meer -- sea, and Ozean -- ocean, the big bodies of water. Both have a similar fate in being quite diverse when describing multitudes: they can appear as quantifiers of other liquid substances (ein Meer von Blut -- a sea of blood, ein Ozean von Tränen -- an ocean of tears), extensive crowds and inanimate objects (67, 70) and intangible entities (exemplified by 68, 69) like feelings, experiences, etc.

(67)Auf der Suche nach Antworten sehe ich mir ein großes Foto links der Überschrift genauer an. Ein Meer von Menschen füllt die schöne Habib Bourguiba Avenue aus dem späten 19. Jahrhundert. -- In the search for answers, I take a closer look at a large photograph to the left of the title. A sea of people fills the beautiful Habib Bourguiba Avenue from the late 19th century.

(68)Unsere Väter und Großväter, die jahrelang durch ein Meer von Hass und Grausamkeit gehen mussten, wurden diese Segnungen nie zuteil. -- Our fathers and grandfathers, who for years had to go through a sea of hate and cruelty, never received these blessings.

(69)Das Studium an der ZHdK war eine einzige Bereicherung. Es wurde mir bewusst gemacht, dass hinter jedem Begriff ein Ozean von Möglichkeiten steht. -- I was made aware that after every term there is an ocean of possibilities.

(70)Hohe Gebäude allein machen eine Stadt nicht zwingend urban und global. Das zeigen chinesische Städte. Viele von ihnen sind ein Ozean von Hochhäusern. -- Tall buildings alone do not necessarily make a city urban and global. That's what Chinese cities show. Many of them are an ocean of skyscrapers.

The next three quantifiers in the “water” group initially have to do with large amounts of water moving or spreading across the surface of water (Welle -- wave) or terrain (Schwall -- torrent, Flut -- flood, Strom -- stream). This handful of quantifiers stands out as being quite diverse in the type of entities it can apply to. They all remain compatible with liquids (e.g. ein Strom von Tränen -- a stream of tears, ein Schwall von Blut -- a torrent of blood), some also appear in contexts describing a large influx or moving mass of people or animals (eine Welle von Flüchtlingen -- a wave of refugees, eine Flut von Lämmern -- a flood of lambs, ex. 73). Welle is also commonly seen to portray a sudden onset of intense emotion, as seen in (71), or a suddenly appearing multitude of physical entities (eine Welle von Fanbriefen -- a wave of fan letters), events or actions, as shown in (72). These examples also show that in quite a significant portion of its occurrence, Welle describes something negative or unwanted.

(71)Tiefe Trauer und Verzweiflung lösten eine Welle von Wutausbrüchen in ihr. -- Deep sadness and despair triggered a wave of outbursts of rage in her.

(72)Vor dem international mit Spannung erwarteten Votum [...] über neue Sparbeschlüsse haben die Gegner des Regierungskurses eine Welle von Protesten und Streiks gestartet. -- Before the internationally eagerly awaited vote [...] on new savings decisions, the opponents of the government's course have launched a wave of protests and strikes.

Strom tends to indicate a present series of moving objects (ein Strom von Fahrzeugen -- a stream of vehicles or people as in ex. 73) or an unceasing continuation of events, internal feelings or an otherwise present state of things (ein Strom von Gedanken -- a stream of thoughts, ein Strom von Freude -- a stream of joy, and a stream of corruption in ex. 74).

(73)Die Menge staut sich bis halb acht, da wird das Tor vorn aufgemacht; ein Strom von Menschen sich ergießt und langsam in die Reihen fließt. -- The crowd accumulates until half past seven, when the door is opened in front; a stream of people pours and slowly flows into the rows.

(74)Gegenüber dem chilenischen Portal "Reflexión y Liberacion" soll er sogar in einer Privataudienz geäußert haben, dass es dort auch ein Strom von Korruption gebe. -- Opposite the Chilean portal "Reflexión y Liberacion" he is said to have even expressed in a private audience that there is also a stream of corruption there.

Schwall and Flut (two terms for a flood, barrage or onrush of something) are also commonly used to indicate a sudden and copious occurrence of abstract entities, whether it's acts of speech (75) or large amounts of data (77), or various actions and internal human experiences (ex. 78 and 76 respectively). With these two quantifiers it's also not rare to see these sudden onsets perceived as something quite negative:

(75)Was nun folgte war ein Schwall von Beschimpfungen die der Junge über sich ergehen lassen musste. -- What followed was a torrent of insults the boy had to endure.

(76)Es war grossartig, im eigenen Tempo […] arbeiten zu können. Wann immer uns ein Schwall von Kreativität überkam, trafen wir uns in meinem Studio und nahmen alles auf. -- It was great to be able to work at your own pace. Whenever we had a flood of creativity, we met in my studio and recorded everything.

(77)Überquellende Postfächer, eine Flut von Daten und gestresste Mitarbeiter: Seit gut einem Jahr muss die Gebühreneinzugszentrale sämtliche Anträge auf Befreiung von Rundfunkgebühren selbst bearbeiten. -- Overflowing mailboxes, a flood of data and stressed employees: For a good year, the fee collection center has to handle all requests for exemption from broadcasting fees.

(78)Als eine Volksinitiative 1971 in der Schweiz die Abtreibungsparagraphen abschaffen wollte, prophezeiten Abtreibungsgegner eine Flut von Abtreibungen und von unüberlegten Entscheiden. -- When a popular initiative in Switzerland in 1971 wanted to abolish the abortion paragraphs, abortion opponents prophesied a flood of abortions and ill-considered decisions.

The last three members of the vast “water” group are Lawine -- avalanche, Kaskade -- cascade (waterfall with steps), and Hagel -- hail. These nouns share component in that their meaning includes relatively downward motion of water in various states (snow, ice, and liquid water). Lawine, aside from the descent of snow and ice down a mountain slope, is also sometimes used to describe the descent of other physical multitudes (eine Lawine von Luftballons, welche von der Decke aus in die Menge strömten -- an avalanche of balloons flowing from the ceiling into the crowd). However, this quantifier appears more often to indicate a sudden onset of events and emotional experiences, as shown in examples 79 and 80. In this type of context it also appears that such an onset is not only sudden (and often viewed as negative), but also uncontrolled by whoever experiences it.

(79)Dann schießt ihr Blut ins Hirn und löst dort eine Lawine von Panikreaktionen aus. -- Then her blood shoots into the brain and triggers an avalanche of panic reactions.

(80)Die Medienberichte lösten beim Archiv zu den Wehrmachtssoldaten in Berlin eine Lawine von Nachfragen aus. -- The media reports triggered an avalanche of inquiries at the archives of the Wehrmacht soldiers in Berlin.

Kaskade similarly appears, for the most part, to describe a series of occurrences, a good portion of which are also quite negative for their experiencer (ex. 81). The occasional use of Kaskade to indicate a multitude of physical entities is also seen in the corpus data (e.g. eine Kaskade von Stauanlagen -- a cascade of dams).

(81) Daher erhalten wir eine Kaskade von Fehlern von jedem beteiligten Software-Teilchen, was schon den Gedanken an fehlerlose Software völlig absurd erscheinen lässt. -- Therefore, we get a cascade of errors from each of the software particles involved, which already makes the idea of flawless software look completely absurd.

(82) Ein knappes Dutzend Akteure bespielt bestimmt doppelt so viele Rollen, [...] dass es mehr [...] um eine Kaskade von Gags [...] geht als um feinsinnige Charakterzeichnungen. -- A dozen actors certainly play twice as many roles, [...] so it is more about a cascade of gags [...] than about subtle characterization.

And finally, Hagel -- hail is a bit astray from the other members of the current group: it's still largely used as a quantifier of multitude for myriads of physical units falling or flying through the air (such as Kugeln, Pfeilen, and Gesteinsbrocken -- bullets, arrows, and boulders). Beyond descriptions for projectiles and ammunition, Hagel is used to indicate the physical motions of attack (as seen in 83), as well as a series of verbal acts, not rarely in a negative tone, and thus easily perceived as attacks (ex. 84):

(83) Der Bauer grinste, dann prasselte ein Hagel von Schlägen auf Johann ein. -- The farmer grinned, then a hail of blows descended on Johann.

(84) Erwartungsgemäß prasselte augenblicklich ein Hagel von Kritik auf ihn ein. -- As expected, a hail of criticism pattered on him at once.

Having observed the contextual “habitat” of this group of lexical quantifiers in German, it's easy to notice that a prevalent trait for them is the ability to “quantify” a diverse set of entities. While they're still used for multitudes of physical objects and liquid substances, they're more often seen portraying abstract multitudes and/or expanding to also apply to large groups of animate entities.

The third major group contains the German nouns that, when used to describe a multitude, initially do so in regard to physical objects. As we will later observe, this group is still quite diverse, although there are some patterns in context shifts experienced by several particular quantifiers. Table 11 is presented below with all 8 members of this group, as well as the information about the expansion of applicable contexts that they've undergone.

The first term we'll look at is Armada. It's a noun borrowed from Spanish that initially referred to a large war fleet, i.e. a multitude of ships, and later was also applicable to describe various other vehicles in large numbers (such as Schubkarren, Polizeiautospolice -- wheelbarrows, police cars), as well as physical entities unrelated to vessels (Überwachungskameras, Stellenanzeigen -- surveillance cameras and job advertisements are among several that were found in the collected corpus data). Another context in which Armada can be used is seen in (85), where it's describing a numerous group of people working on a specific project:

(85) Mittlerweile steckt eine enorme, schier menschliche Intelligenz hinter den Suchalgorithmen sowie eine Armada von Mitarbeitern , die tägliche Prüfungen vornehmen, sogenannte Quality-Rater. -- Meanwhile, there is an enormous, sheer human intelligence behind the search algorithms as well as an armada of employees who perform daily checks, so-called Quality Rater.

The next quantifier, Arsenal, is another borrowed term related to the military world, initially denoting a military facility where weapons and ammunition were produced, repaired, or stored; and later -- the stored supply of weapons itself, or more generally -- a supply of certain resources. In modern use, it's still seen describing a large amount of weapons (Atomwaffen, Langstreckenraketen-- nuclear weapons, long-range missiles), but also as a supply of more daily-use objects (Mützen, Pfeifen, Drogen -- hats, pipes, drugs). Even further away from its original designation is a multitude of intangible resources (such as skills, knowledge, etc. which are also intended for a specific purpose) that Arsenal is used to quantify in German:

(86) Damit einher geht ein Arsenal von Tricks, wie Menschen sich beeinflussen und manipulieren, um andere zu dominieren, auszubeuten und auszunutzen. -- This is accompanied by an arsenal of tricks on how people influence and manipulate to dominate, use and take advantage of others.

(87) Durch ein Arsenal von Gegenmaßnahmen und Anti-Ärger-Strategien möchte ich Sie zum Mitmachen, Ausprobieren und zum Austausch einladen. -- Through an arsenal of countermeasures and anti-anger strategies I would like to invite you to participate, try out and exchange ideas.

Notably different from the previous two members of the group, Bündel started out as a term for a laced up packet, indicating that the elements that made it up were physically bound together. It's seen from the corpus data that Bündel is still used to refer to a multitude of a physical nature (Nervenfasern, Kabelbindern -- nerve fibers, cable ties), but it's now seen more often as a quantifier for abstract multitudes. Most often these are numerous physical or verbal actions, that are directed towards or regard a certain issue and thus “bound” together by it (Fragen, Vorschlägen -- questions, suggestions), and a very popular entity is Maßnahme -- measure:

(88) Es braucht ein Bündel von Maßnahmen, um die Zahl der sozial gebundenen Wohnungen wenigstens langsam wieder zu steigern. -- It requires a bundle of measures to at least slowly increase the number of socially bound apartments.

(89) Nach einer Amputation stürzt ein Bündel von Fragen auf den Amputierten ein: Wie geht es weiter? Werde ich jemals wieder laufen können? […] -- After an amputation, a bundle of questions collapses on the amputee: what's next? Will I ever be able to walk again? [...]

The next quantifier in the group is Haufen, used to denote a multitude of similar items put together to form a pile. Remaining true to its origin, Haufen still appears primarily to describe multitudes of that nature (ein Haufen von Granitfelsen -- a heap of granite rocks). The term is also often applied to characterize a particular group of people (das Bürgerbündnis nur ein Haufen von Idioten -- the civic alliance just a bunch of idiots), although it's hard to say whether in this case Haufen accentuates the formidable size of the group or the fact that its members form a unified group through the characteristic they're described by. A more definitive example of Haufen serving to point to a large accumulation of a certain type are seen in (90) and (91), where it's used as a quantifier for a mass of resources or information. Although both of these cases refer to abstract notions of funds and information (rather than a stack of paper bills or text on paper), Haufen might still be implicating that their manifestation in some sort of physical form would be of appropriate magnitude to form a heap-like mass.

(90)Stattdessen werden wieder ein Haufen von Steuergeldern verpulvert um sich diesen groben Unfug auszudenken, abzustimmen und niederzuschreiben. -- Instead, a heap of taxpayer money is spent again to come up with this gross nonsense, vote on it and write it down.

(91) Ein Mausklick genügt, und schon rieselt ein Haufen von Informationen auf den Bildschirm. -- One mouse-click is enough, and a heap of information is already trickling down the screen.

Wand -- wall and Berg -- mountain stand out in this group of quantifiers due to them originally referring to a single large (and tall) object, rather than an accumulated mass composed of a myriad of units. Of course, both nouns did start at one point to quantify the latter. In the case of Wand, it can seen describing a mass of people and inanimate objects (eine Wand von Leuten -- a wall of people, eine Wand von Palmen -- a wall of palm trees), where the entities are forming a whole while being positioned upright, rather than forming a mountain by being piled on top of each other. However, when used to describe an abstract plurality, the “vertical” aspect of eine Wand von Problemen, eine Wand von Gleichgültigkeit und Desinteresse (in ex. 92 and 93 below) seems to remain. The quantifier appears to entail that this multitude resembles a real wall in that it appears as an insurmountable obstacle for the person who is facing or experiencing it.

(92) Oftmals türmt sich eine Wand von Problemen auf: Wie finde ich ein Umzugsunternehmen, was muss ich dabei beachten, wer kommt für eventuelle Schäden auf? -- Often, a wall of problems piles up: How do I find a removal company, what do I have to keep in mind, who is responsible for any damage?

(93)Und was tue ich, wenn mich eine Wand von Gleichgültigkeit und Desinteresse empfängt? Oder wenn ständig geredet wird und die Leute offenbar ganz andere Probleme haben […] -- What do I do when a wall of indifference and disinterest greets me? Or when people are constantly talking and seem to have completely different problems [...]

Unlike Wand, the quantifier Berg is more often applied to intangible multitudes, rather than to “mountains” of stacked physical items, although the latter is still not rare to see (ein Berg von Essensresten -- a mountain of leftover food, ein Berg von Schutt -- a mountain of rubble). When used to describe a large accumulation of emotions, or various tasks and situations that demand certain actions, Berg also presents this accumulation as a negative and significant obstacle:

(94) Die Freundin lief ihm davon und sein Luxusleben fraß das Geld auf. Am Ende blieb ein Berg von Schulden. -- The girlfriend left him and his luxury life ate up the money. In the end, a mountain of debt remained.

(95) Wenn Gloria von diversen Putzjobs in ihre winzige Wohnung [...] zurückkehrt, wartet dort schon wieder ein Berg von Arbeit auf sie: kochen, putzen, waschen, bügeln, tagaus, tagein. -- When Gloria returns from various cleaning jobs to her tiny apartment, [...] there is already a mountain of work waiting for her: cooking, cleaning, washing, ironing, day in, day out.

The remaining group members are Kette and Labyrinth. In their more primary meanings, these words refer to an assembly of connected physical elements to form one whole. Kette maintains this attribute when describing certain series of physical objects (eine Kette von Zuckermolekülen -- a chain of sugar molecules, eine Kette von Seen -- a chain of lakes, eine Kette von Vulkanen -- a chain of volcanoes). In the last two examples the aspect of physical connection may not be immediately evident, although it is present: a chain of volcanoes is connected due to forming on the same subducting tectonic plate, while a chain of lakes is a system of lakes that are connected through various streams. For abstract multitudes, however, Kette preserves the “connectivity” of various actions and circumstances in the sense that they form a series in time that may thus be perceived as an uninterrupted process. The elements of the given series might not even be strictly identical, although of a somewhat similar character:

(96) Ein Beispiel dafür ist die Weltgeschichte. Sie ist eine Kette von Überfällen, Raub, Mord und Totschlag. -- An example of this is world history. It is a chain of robbery, robbery, murder and manslaughter.

(97) Sie erleben von da an eine Kette von Demütigungen und Frustrationen, die sich allmählich auch ins Selbstwertgefühl der Betroffenen einschleichen […] -- From then on, they experience a chain of humiliations and frustrations, which gradually also creep into the self-esteem of those affected [...]

As a quantifier, Labyrinth remains prevalent in contexts describing a multitude of interconnected pathways (Sälen, Tunneln, -- halls, tunnels) and large naturally occurring or artificial barriers (Gletschern, Mauern -- glaciers, walls). Admittedly, it's difficult to determine whether Labyrinth puts more emphasis on the interconnected and possibly “easy-to-get-lost-in” nature whilst being used to describe the entities listed above. In other cases like (98) it seems more clear that the speaker likely intends to highlight the large number of skyscrapers (as opposed to the possibility of getting lost among them). In rare cases, Labyrinth may also describe an emotional state of an individual, as illustrated by (99), where the quantifier is an indicator for the prevalence of negative internal experiences that appears as an insurmountable obstacle entrapping Roth.

(98)Panama ist ein Land der Gegensätze: Regenwald und einsame Strände, wilde Flora und Fauna findet man ebenso wie ein Labyrinth von Wolkenkratzern und brandneuen Bankgebäuden, die an Zahl längst die Wall Street übertreffen. -- Panama is a land of contrasts: rainforest and secluded beaches, wild flora and fauna, as well as a maze of skyscrapers and brand-new bank buildings that have long outnumbered Wall Street.

(99)Roth kann niemandem mehr trauen, immer tiefer gerät sie bei ihren Nachforschungen in ein Labyrinth von Angst, Gewalt und Paranoia. -- Roth can no longer trust anyone, but deeper and deeper she finds herself in a labyrinth of fear, violence and paranoia.

The final two quantifiers left address are Sturm -- storm and Feuerwerk -- firework. The schematics of the context shifts these items have experienced are depicted in Table 12 below.

As shown in the table above, Sturm was first used to denote the natural phenomenon of very strong wind (albeit, less powerful than a hurricane), and was later applied as a term for a violent military assault on an enemy target, as well as to describe an agitated and violent state of society. The sample corpus data shows that the quantifier Sturm mostly tends to appear with and describe certain kinds of actions, as well as human experiences, be it emotions (ein Sturm von Emotionen tobt gerade in mir -- a storm of emotions is raging inside of me) or sense perception (ein Sturm von Kräutern, Gewürzen und Honig -- a storm of herbs, spices and honey). In these examples, in addition to multitude, Sturm continues to indicate an intensity of the particular occurrence. This also remains the case when it's used to quantify actions, as seen in (100) and (101). A storm of shouts suggests that everyone present in the audience starts to shout suddenly and simultaneously, while a storm of questions may involve the entirety of questions hitting all at the same time as well or continuously over time.

(100)Lautes Beifallgeschrei, ein Sturm von Zurufen erfolgte. Es war auch nicht ein Einziger unter den Anwesenden, der nicht von den Worten des Redners bewältigt, hingerissen wurde. -- Loud applause, a storm of shouts ensued. There wasn't a single person present who was not captivated by the words of the speaker.

(101)Nachdem Bashira den ersten Schock verdaut hatte, war ein Sturm von Fragen über sie hereingeprasselt. -- After Bashira had swallowed the initial shock, a storm of questions had hit her.

The concluding German quantifier on the top-25 list being covered is Feuerwerk. Much like the sudden manifestation of a myriad of colorful lights achieved by pyrotechnical devices, the entities described by this quantifier also appear suddenly and plentifully. Typical contexts seen in the corpus data include descriptions of experiencing emotions, colors and flavors (ex. 102) in enthusiastic manner. Example 103 also shows Feuerwerk describing a series of jokes and anecdotes told in performance (although not at once, but in a series, and exceptionally well).

(102)Der Ilatraia besitzt [einen][…] komplexer Körper mit großer Eleganz und großer Kraft, ein Feuerwerk von Aromen mit fein eingebundenen Tanninen; unendlicher Abgang. -- The Ilatraia has a complex body with great elegance and great power, a firework of aromas with finely integrated tannins; infinite aftertaste.

(103) Zwei Stunden lang zündete der begnadete Leser des eigenen Werkes ein Feuerwerk von

Pointen, witzigen Dialogen und spannend-hintergründigen Geschichten […] -- For two hours, the gifted reader of his own work ignited a firework of punchlines, witty dialogues and exciting enigmatic stories […]

Chapter IV. Further German & English quantifier analysis

Having introduced and examined our two lists of the more prevalently used lexical quantifiers in English and German and having determining the changes they've undergone in being applied to a wider variety of entities, it's sensible to proceed with some additional analysis using the system of characteristics (of quantifiers and the entities they describe) proposed in Rakhilina 2010. An integral step towards understanding how certain lexical items are able to become quantifiers is to identify the mechanisms of semantic changes that drive that process.

When examining the relevant Russian data, Rakhilina identifies two principle types of metaphors that introduce the previously unavailable meaning of “large quantity”, namely static and dynamic metaphors. As we're about to see, this division is readily applied to the German and English quantifiers examined in the current paper. Table 13, presented below, will act as a useful guide to keep track of the following analysis of quantifiers and the nature of their semantic transformation.