TY - JOUR
AU - Herda, Damian
TI - &lt;p&gt;On the Adverbialization of Polish Indefinite Quantifiers of Nominal Origin:  A Diachronic Study of &lt;em&gt;trochę &lt;/em&gt;‘a bit’, &lt;em&gt;odrobinę &lt;/em&gt;‘a bit’, and &lt;em&gt;masę &lt;/em&gt;‘a lot’&lt;/p&gt;
JF - Studies in Polish Linguistics
VL - Volume 14 (2019)
PY - 2019
DO = 10.4467/23005920SPL.19.002.10282
SN - 1732-8160
C1 - 2300-5920
SP - 19
EP - 42
KW - grammaticalization
KW - adverbialization
KW - indefinite (vague) quantifiers of nominal origin
KW - degree adverbs
KW - extent modifiers
KW - Polish
N2 - &lt;p style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;Based on diachronic data extracted from the available lexicographic sources and historical corpora of Polish, this paper aims at determining whether the initial stage of the adverbialization of indefinite quantifiers of nominal origin typically involves extent modification, degree modification being a posterior development. The results of an investigation into the evolution of the functionalstatusof the commonly used quantifiers &lt;em&gt;trochę &lt;/em&gt;‘a bit’, &lt;em&gt;odrobinę &lt;/em&gt;‘a bit’, as well as &lt;em&gt;masę &lt;/em&gt;‘a lot’ indicate that prior to establishing themselves as degree modifiers, the items function as extent modifiers, i.e. duratives or frequentatives. In their earliest adverbial attestations recorded in the analysed material, the quantifiers under scrutiny modify the duration or frequency of the action denoted by the associated verbal element, or, if the pertinent verb encodes a punctual event, of the resultant state, and only later do they start to combine with scalar predicates, i.e. degree verbs as well as gradable adjectives and adverbs, including adverbials in the form of prepositional phrases. Exceptional in this respect is &lt;em&gt;masę &lt;/em&gt;‘a lot’, as it (still) appears incapable of serving as a degree intensifier&lt;/p&gt;
UR - https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/studies-in-polish-linguistics/article/on-the-adverbialization-of-polish-indefinite-quantifiers-of-nominal-origin-a-diachronic-study-of-troche-a-bit-odrobine-a-bit-and-mase-a-lot