D’une avalanche d’injures par une poignée de bonne humour à un soupçon de tristesse – l’analyse sémantique et les classifications des locutions nominales de quantité

Among nouns that are used as determiners, we have chosen to analyze and then classify those which form the sequence DET N1 de, and are interpreted as markers of undetermined quantity. We call them nominal quantifi ers and defi ne them as formal markers of amplifi cation of the reference objects, designated by the nouns to which the quantifi ers are added. Th eir primary function is therefore to denote quantity. Th ey are varied and apply to diff erent nouns, designating objects which are the subject of quantifi cation. Aft er having proposed a structured and coherent inventory of this type of quantifi ers, we have proceeded to their classifi cation according to fi ve criteria. Th is allowed to form a few subclasses, which present semantic diff erences concerning, among others, the type of quantity, the degree of quantifi cation, the degree of semantic fossilisation and the degree of metaphorisation of the DET N1 de N2 structure.