Numbers

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Taka

#453669 Sun, 16 Dec 07 12:52 PM

English is a language of ascendancy which is measured by numbers of speakers in various activities.

About the 'numbers (of)' in red, does it mean 'the data of how many people'? Or does it just ambiguously mean 'many'?

Taka

Joined on Tue, Sep 7 2004

Japan

Senior Member (2,351)

Numbers

Yankee

#453674 Sun, 16 Dec 07 12:57 PM

Hi Taka

I'd say it means 'the data of how many people' -- i.e. the number of speakers in Activity A, the number of speakers in Activity B, the number of speakers in Activity C, etc.

Yankee

Joined on Sat, Apr 15 2006

Connecticut, USA

Senior Member (4,320)

Amy "You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." - Mark Twain

Numbers

Taka

#453777 Sun, 16 Dec 07 04:43 PM

Just as I thought! Thank you for the clear explanation, as always, Amy! I like your logical way of thinking. Could I count on it again?

How come you native speakers perceive 'numbers of' in some other contexts as 'many' as well? How can it make sense that way? What kind of logic do you think there is behind?

Taka

Numbers

Yankee

#453805 Sun, 16 Dec 07 06:52 PM

Hi Taka

It seems to me that we use numbers to mean many (i.e. a lot of) mainly when we say things such as "large numbers of".
Do you have some specific sentences in mind?

Yankee

Numbers

Taka

#454964 Wed, 19 Dec 07 02:54 PM

Yankee wrote:
Hi Taka

Do you have some specific sentences in mind?

One of my dictionaries have these as the examples:

・There're numbers of people who believe it.
・He made numbers of experiments.

Taka

Numbers

Yankee

#454977 Wed, 19 Dec 07 03:47 PM

Hi Taka

Both of those sentences sound a little odd to me. I'd also tend to interpret the word 'numbers' simply as 'some' in those sentences. It almost sounds as if the writer was fence-sitting and couldn't quite decide whether it was a large or a small number of people/experiments.
Maybe someone else will find such a usage more natural, though.

Yankee

Numbers