Lexikální sémantika neurčitých kvantifikátorů v současné češtině
The lexical semantics of indefinite quantifiers in contemporary Czech

Summary/Abstract: An indefinite quantifier always determines the quantum and usually also assesses it. It quantifies both substances and attributes. The assessment has a binary structure which is formed through a basis of quantification and a quantum that is denoted. This quantum is compared with the basis and assessed as small or large. There are four types of basis: (1) a quantum perceived by the speaker as standard in a certain communication situation (<i>mnoho</i>, <i>trochu</i>, <i>velmi</i>, etc.); (2) a quantum perceived by the speaker as the smallest or the largest desirable one in a certain communication situation (<i>příliš</i>, <i>dost</i> in some contexts); (3) a quantum separating the realization of some process from its non-realization (<i>příliš</i>, <i>dost</i> in some contexts); (4) a quantum which is expressed in the sentence and characterized as potentially invalid (<i>přinejmenším</i>, <i>téměř</i>, etc.). The first three types correspond to autosemantic quantifiers (traditionally nouns, adjectives, numerals and adverbs), the fourth type to synsemantic quantifiers (particles). The synsemantic quantifiers require combination with an autosemantic expression which determines the value of the basis of quantification.

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