'un poco de' also means 'mucho' in PRESEEA-Cali and PRESEEA-Medellín

Abstract

This exploratory research analyzes the use of the quantifier expression 'un poco de' with the meanings of 'a bit of' and 'a lot of' in the PRESEEA-Cali and PRESEEA-Medellín corpora. Twenty occurrences were found in Cali and 14 in Medellín, which were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed regarding four linguistic variables (large/small quantity, abstract/concrete nouns, countable/uncountable nouns, and plural/singular nouns) and pre-stratification variables (gender, age, and educational level). Out of the 34 occurrences, 9 indicate a small amount, and 25 indicate 'a lot of'. This demonstrates a higher frequency of the non-traditional use of the quantifier expression in both corpora. In most cases where 'un poco de' denotes a 'a lot of', it is accompanied by a plural or collective countable noun. For the recurrent meaning of a small quantity, the formula 'un poco de' + singular abstract noun is employed. In terms of social variables, a higher use of the meaning of 'large quantity' was observed in men, the first generation, and low educational levels, although 'un poco de' with the meaning of 'a lot of' was present in all studied social groups.