Measuring Language

Metrologists spend so much time numerically quantifying physical phenomena, that the opportunity to consider the language used to actually quantify may be a welcome diversion. We start by assigning values to some comparative terms. But how many is some ? Perhaps six or seven ? Well, it's probably more than several, so let us assume that several is four or five. And how many is a few ? Most consider it to be less than several and therefore certainly less than some. But it's more than two, since two is definitely a couple. By these terms a few must be three or four.

Reference to a handy Oxford English Dictionary reveals that some is "an appreciable or considerable number". Surprising since, conversely, sometimes isn't generally felt to be very often. Indeed, the OED defines the frequency of sometimes as "at one time or other". Seemingly, some has a serious lack of stability, having the duality of being both a large and small quantity at once. Given this, you'd need to be quite an optimist to ask for some apple pie.

Which leads us to wonder about that quite qualifier. Quite, when relating to a lot (many) diminishes the lot; quite a lot clearly being less than a lot. Similarly, quite big is smaller than simply big and also, quite good being rather poorer than good.

However, quite when used to qualify virtue, increases the degree of trueness; quite correct being more right than just correct. Likewise, probably is more probable when it is quite probably. And on the subject of confidence, just right attributes a higher degree of perfection than something that is only right. By reversing the phrase and with only an additional pause, as in "right... just", it's possible to convey a sense of barely satisfying the requirement.

A more interesting observation concerns opposites which we came upon quite by chance and which is, evidently, more extraordinary than doing so by chance. Consider valid. Quite valid is marginally less valid than valid but quite invalid is far more invalid than invalid. At the same time, quite true is truer than true; quite untrue more untrue than untrue.

By combining the foregoing propositions we can address the question of how many is quite a few? It seems to be more than a few and, alarmingly, this may then encroach on the ground occupied by several. Since quite several is nonsensical whereas quite some is more than some (albeit colloquially for emphasis, as in "That is quite some building"), it stands to reason that several misses out a bit (a bit being less than quite a lot but more than nothing).

The entire discussion serves to illustrate the imprecision of language; it has uncertainty. But to what degree? Well, certain suggests definite (=100%) but uncertain doesn't mean impossible (>0%), so maybe tends towards 50%. If certain equates to 100% and uncertain lies in the range 30-70%, might risky reflect 5-30%? But what is something having higher confidence than uncertain but not the absolute assurance of certain? Hmmm... language guardbands are required. Some metrologists are quite certain of that, surely?

And you thought the language of measurement was difficult !