The range of quantifiers: An empirical Investigation of set size

Abstract

In this paper we present the results from a large-scale estimation study on Swedish Quantifi ed Expressions (QEs). The size of seventeen different QEs, eight positive (monotone increasing) and nine negative (monotone decreasing), was rated by 596 participants. The results show that both positive and negative QEs can pick out large and small quantities and that some QEs are indistinguishable in size. One QE, ett antal (‘a number of’) has a bimodal distribution, meaning that some speakers interpret it as picking out a large quantity and other speakers as picking out a small quantity. In addition, the results raise interesting questions about the internal structure of QEs and about scalar inferences, among other things.