The means expressing the concept "indefinite quantity" in the German language

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THE MEANS EXPRESSING THE CONCEPT “INDEFINITE QUANTITY” IN THE GERMAN LANGUAGE

Belyaev Dmitrii Anatol'evich, Ph. D. in Philosophy Bordyugova Kseniya Aleksandrovna

Pukhaeva Marina Stanislavovna

Lipetsk State Pedagogical P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky University

We are surrounded by a vast amount of objects that have various quantitative saturations, which should be fastened to the definite lexeme in speech. It can be expressed by different lexico-grammatical means in the language.

In Ancient times the concept “Quantity” became the object of scientific reflex ion on the philosophic layer of cognition. “Quantity” is the amount or number of material or abstract things that are not usually estimated by spatial measurement.

The category of quantity was thoroughly examined by the Ancient Greek philosophers as well as by the naturalists of the Renaissance. To them refer Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Immanuel Kant.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries the gap between philosophy and philology was successfully bridged by Ferdinand Mongin de Saussure, a Swiss linguist, who combined the basic tenets of two branches of science and created the structuralism theory. Ferdinand Mongin de Saussure's principals influenced the foundation of cognitive linguistics, which considered the term “concept” to be of major importance [14].

Besides, the significance of the concept “Quantity” determined intense linguistic interest to this problem, which was closely examined by the modern scholars and lexicologists, such as E. V. Gulyga, E. I. Shendels [6], A. A. Chelnokova [10], L. G. Akulenko [2], K. A. Bordyugova [5], N. P. Pankevich [7], E. L. Shubina [12] and some others. The linguists state that the concept “Quality” affects lexico-grammatical fields in the language.

Firstly, the choice of the topic is conditioned by the broad interest in ontological categories of general linguistics. Secondly, it is stipulated by the absence of integrated and interdisciplinary researches of the means expressing “Quantity” in German linguistics.

Also, the quantity is divided into definite and indefinite amount. In turn, the indefinite quantity breaks up into indefinitely large and indefinitely small one. The present study is devoted to the means expressing indefinite quantity in the modern German language.

The current paper aims at the specification of means expressing the concept “Indefinite Quantity” in German, studies the use of different parts of speech for the implementation of this concept, and analyzes their characteristics and semantic aspects.

The methodological framework of our study is based on the theoretical principals and cognitive empirical methods examining quantitative relations in the indefinite-numeral measurement. They consist of the following components: case study, theoretical analysis of scientific works on this topic, examination of dictionary entries by means of continuous sampling method, synthesis and generalization.

The term “concept” in the second half of the twentieth century was firmly embedded in the philosophical, cultural and linguistic research area. According to D. A. Belyaev's fundamental investigation, the “concept” is a dynamic term, which has the discursive and narrative nature. The “concept” implies the lingual-semantic singularity, which simultaneously combines the sense, comprehension and individual interpretation [4, c. 4].

The first full-blown theory on the concept of quantity in the language was stated by L. G. Akulenko in 1990. The functional-semantic fields were brought to the forefront. Modern Russian linguists concentrated on such aspects of language as standard language and quantitative units (A. N. Polyansky [8] and A. D. Shmelyov [11]).

E. V. Gulyga and E. I. Shendels suggested the new fundamental approach of studying the quantity in German. Their comprehensive analysis of different means expressing indefinitely large and small quantity let the authors generalize these means of expression and organize them as the complex lexico-grammatical field [6].

According to A.A. Chelnokova's classification, indefinite quantity is represented in the German language by way of the following notional and functional parts of speech: the plural forms of notional parts of speech, the indefinite article, the questions: wie viel (How much?), wie groЯ (How large?), intensifiers: so (so), so wie (as), fast so wie (as well as), adverbs: dieser (this), jener (that), oft (often), meistens (mostly), am meisten (most often), selten (seldom), ein bisschen (a little), adjectives vielerlei (various), mehrfach (multiple), zahlreich (numerous), vollzдlig (whole), massenhaft (mass, popular), unzдhlig (countless), groЯ (big), riesig (huge), winzig (tiny), einige (a bit), unwichtige (unimportant), quantitative pronouns: alle(rlei) (all), sдmtliche (all of them), mehrere (several), viele(rlei) (many, much), einige (some), etliche (some), manche(rlei) (some, many), beide (both), ein paar (few), wenige (little), keine(rlei) (no, neither), ein wenig (little), jedermann (any, every), irgendwelche (any, some), the lexical means, which can substitute for the indefinite article: welch ein (which), solch ein (such), man (~one), irgendein (any, some), ein solcher (such), etwas (anything), nichts (nothing), was fьr ein (which), manch ein (neither, many), niemand (nobody), the phrases: die Nummer von (the number of), die Variante von (the variant of), die Serie von (the series of) [10, c. 232].

E.g. - Ich nehme an, du fragst dich, warum ich mir den Namen und die Nummer von jedem Teilnehmer aufschreibe, sagte Harkness. (McVries burst out laughing. “If you win, you won't need a book to make you a rich man, will you?” Harkness frowned. “Well… I suppose not. But it would still make one heck of an interesting book, I think.” They walked on, and Harkness continued taking names and numbers) [15, S. 28].

The indefinite quantity is implied by the verbs: sammeln (to collect), vereinigen (to connect). In Germanic and Romanic languages the verbs do not have special forms for expressing single-acting ideas. Compare: germ. schieЯen, eng. to fire, to shoot. Basing on L. G. Akulenko's researches, we believe that the indefinite quantity can be divided and undivided [2].

Quantifiers also render the concept of indefinite quantity [1, c. 13]. Though in various languages it is represented differently, for example, in French: ruisselet, m (petit russeau, cours d'eau d'importance relativement peu considйrable) “a stream” in the phrase “un ruisselet de qch” doesn't point out a concrete object but refers to some amount of objects, e.g. “un ruisselet d'hommes” [5, c. 42].

In German E. L. Shubina (2015) distinguishes nine groups of quantifiers [12].

The seventh group of “indefinitely large quantity of people and things” consists of the following nouns: der Berg (a mountain), der Haufen (a heap), die Menge (a crowd), der Schwall (a flow), der Schwung (a portion), der Strom (a stream), die Unmenge (heaps), die Unzahl (a lot of), die Welt (the world). We can add to these groups the lexemes representing large units of measurement. E.g. die Tonne (a ton), die Milliarde (a milliard), das Millennium (the millenium), die Meile (a mile) etc [Там же, с. 240].

In the foreign literature of the twentieth century we can come across indefinite and fictitious pseudo numbers, which are used for creating the humorous effect, for exaggeration, or when mentioning the precise number of subjects is undesirable.

E.g. Undecillion, duodecillion, decillion and other numerals, having the ending - zillion. The numeral “Zillion” was put into usage in 1944 by the writer and journalist, Damon Runyon. But before it careful readers could notice some other pseudo numerals in the fiction in translation: “Bazillion” (bazillion) (1939, NY Times), “Jillion” (jillion) (1942) и “Squillion” (squillion) (1943) [13].

There is a list of pseudo numerals in German: bajillion, bazillion, bizillion, brazillion (zu Brazil = Brasilien), dillion, fantillion, gazillion, gagillion, gajillion, godzillion (is the compound word, formed of: Godzilla (ѓSѓWѓ‰) - a fictional giant monster originating from a series of tokusatsu films of the same name from Japan, plus the ending -zillion. It is the largest number ever. The monster of numbers. Invented by Jonathan Goldstein and spoken of on the CBC Radio show “Wiretap” [16], grillion, hojillion, jillion, kabillion, kajillion, katrillion (katrillion = Katrina - a hurricane caused extensive devastation and loss of life when the levees failed, leaving floodwaters to engulf the city) + million), kazillion, killion, quazadrillion, robillion, skillion, squidillion, squillion, trazillion, umptillion (zu umpteen = „zig“) etc.

It should be also mentioned that pseudo numerals in German occur mostly in the translations from the AngloSaxon literary works.

The other way expressing the indefinite quantity in German is an indirect description through paradigmatic component of the utterance, i.e. through the emotional attitude of the speaker.

E.g. Ausgiebig (abundant), ausreichend (sufficient), das geht ins Uferlose (it tends to infinity), endlos (endless), ganz unbegreiflich wieviel (it is impossible to guess the number of…), grenzenlos (bondless), im ЬbermaЯ (in plenty), ist nicht zu zдhlen (unnumbered), kein Ende nehmen (endless lasting), keine Grenze kennen (to know no bounds), keiner kann zдhlen (it is impossible to count), ohne Einschrдnkung (without restriction), ohne MaЯ (beyond all measure), schrankenlos (unlimited), die Ьberfьlle (the plenty of…), uferlos (endless), unabsehbar (immense), unbeschrдnkt (unlimited), unendlich (boundless), ins Unendliche (to tend to infinity), unermesslich (immeasurable), unьbersichtlich (vast), zahllos (countless) etc.

This principle works regarding to the quantifiers of indefinitely small quantity. E.g. An den Fingern anzдhlen (it can be counted on one hand), die Bagatelle (a trifle), einen Dreck wert sein (not to be worth a red cent), kaum bemerkbar (barely perceptible), leicht zдhlbar (it is easy to count), (der) Mangel an etw. (a lack of…), nicht genug (insufficient), nicht merklich (imperceptibly), nichts zu sehen (to see nothing), unzureichend (deficient) etc [9].

Set phrases express indefinitely large and indefinitely small quantity as well. E.g. Kein Aas! - not a (living) soul. Es konnte kein Apfel zur Erde - There's no room to swing a cat. Stirbt der Fuchs, so gilt der Balg - It is good to gain even a flock of wool from the black sheep.

The patterns, which have a diverse degree of measurement, in which lexical constituents duplicate, also can identify the indefinite quantity. E.g. Angriff auf Angriff (one attack after another), er redete, redete, redete (he spoke, spoke, spoke…), Jahr fьr Jahr (year after year), von Jahr zu Jahr (year in year out) [3, с. 110].

Moreover, the morphemes render the concept of indefinitely large and small quantity. To them refer: semisuffix -arm: kinderarm (childless), blutarm (anemic), futterarm (without food), gedankenarm (unprincipled); suffixes -chen: das Spiegelchen (a mirror), das Hдuschen (a house), das Freundchen (a friend), das Gдrtchen (a garden); -el: das Bьschel (a bunch), das Bьndel (a bundle); -elchen: das Dingelchen (knickknack, a thing), das Bьchelchen

(a book); -lein: das Bдchlein (a tiny brook), das Дuglein (eyes); -elle: die Bagatelle (dribs and drabs), die Fontanelle (a spring), die Sardelle (anchovy); semi-prefixes: Hunde-: der Hundelohn (a small reward), das Hundegeld (pittance), hundertfach (hundredfold) [7].

Prefixes, borrowed from Greek and Latin, show the derivational potential in German: Hypo: die Hypoaziditдt - low acidity, die Hypotension - hypotension. Prefixes: Mikro-: die Mikroanalyse - microanalysis, die Mikroдtzung - microetching. Mini-: das Mini-Bike - a mini-bike, die Miniaturschaltung - a microchip. Nano- and Piko-: das Nanometer - a nanometer, das Pikoamperemeter - a picoamperemeter. Makro-: der Makrobefehl - a macroinstruction. Hyper-: die Hyperaziditдt - hyperacidity. Maxi-: das Maxikleid - a maxi-dress, der Maximaldruck - maximal pressure. Mega-: die Megalopolis - a megalopolis. Poly-: der Polyglotte - a polyglot. Multi-: die Multielementanalyse - a multielement analysis. Super-: der Superdonator - a super donor. Extra-: die Extrakosten - extra costs. german language phraseological speech

Ultra-: die Ultraschallwellen - ultrasonic waves [Там же].

With all the above mentioned and the conducted analysis it can be said that the concept of quantity and number in the German language is a category that can be viewed through different units of speech and language: plural forms of notional parts of speech, indefinite article and its substitutions, questions, intensifiers, adverbs, adjectives, quantitative pronouns, quantifiers, set-phrases and phraseological units.

Pseudo numerals and morphemes, which are undergone the process of borrowing from the foreign languages, enrich the abundance in ways expressing the indefinite quantity in the German word stock.

References

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