Binominal constructions of small quantity in Russian and Italian

Binominal constructions of small quantity in Russian and ItalianThis paper offers a contrastive analysis of binominal constructions expressing small quantity in Italian and Russian, focusing on six core nouns (goccia/kaplja, briciola/kroka, granello/krupica).Through a combined quantitative and qualitative corpus-based approach, the study investigates how these nouns evolve from literal measure expressions to metaphorical and grammaticalized quantifiers or degree modifiers.Drawing on theoretical frameworks from grammaticalization theory and usage-based Construction Grammar, the analysis highlights the role of cognitive profiling, metaphorical shift, and negative polarity contexts in shaping these constructions.Findings reveal significant cross-linguistic asymmetries.In Russian, metaphorical uses are tightly linked to negative polarity and emotional intensification, especially in singular forms.Italian, by contrast, shows a broader functional diversification, including the emergence of masculine forms (goccio and briciolo) that have undergone structural decategorization, losing their morphological features of number, and acquired abstract quantificational or scalar functions.Particular attention is paid to the semantic features of N 1 elements, whose combination with N 2 's shapes metaphorical reinterpretation, often grounded in domains such as emotions (briciola/briciolo) or epistemic knowledge (krupica).The study demonstrates that while Italian and Russian share typological similarities in binominal quantification, their metaphorical paths and grammaticalization processes diverge markedly.These findings provide insight into the interplay of lexis, grammar, and discourse, and offer a framework for future diachronic and typological investigations of quantifier constructions across languages.