Why “most” might be the same as “majority”

 By MUNGAI KIHANYA

The Sunday Nation

Nairobi,

21 July 2013

I came across an argument between two bloggers on the Internet. One had written that “many teachers were not supporting the strike” while the other insisted that “the majority of teachers” were for the industrial action. The argument ensued because the two could not agree on the distinction between many and most.

Many people interpret the word “many” in the same way as “most”. However, strictly speaking, any number more than one is many. But thinking about it that way, one might be hard-pressed to define the meaning of “few”. And while we are at it, what is the meaning of “most’, any way? Is it the same as “majority”?

In my mind, the three comparatives are defined as follows. The first is “few” meaning more than one but not greater than 33 per cent. The second is “many” which means higher than 33 per cent but not above 66 per cent. Then, finally, “most” is above 66 per cent but not 100 per cent. Obviously, 100 per cent is “all”.

Notice that in these definitions, “most” doesn’t mean simply more than half. Anything between 50 and 66 per cent is “many”; not most. If pressed harder, I’d call it “majority”.

So far so good: but I have hidden away an important element. “Comparatives” are used for comparing quantities. So, when we say such and such a per cent, what is the basis for comparison? What number is it a per cent of?

This is always implied in the context. For example, when I write that “Many people interpret the word ‘many’ in the same way as ‘most’” the basis for comparison is the total population of English speakers. That is, anything between about 600 million and 1.2 billion out of the estimated 1.8 billion people who speak English.

But sometimes it is not so obvious. When we say something like “it will take many years for Kenya to become a high-income nation”, what are we using for comparison? Perhaps it is the average lifespan of a human being – about 70 years. In that case, many years means anywhere between 23 and 46 years.

Now we begin to understand why economists consider Kenya’s Vision 2030 to be an ambitious development plan. Its 22 years (from2008 to 2030) are not many; they are few according to the above definition!

Other times people use their own social or physical status as the basis for comparison. Thus when I say many years ago I mean a different number from what my father might have in mind when he says the same thing. About 20 years for me and 50 years for him.

What about “very many” and “very few”? Well, I’ll that for you to figure out for yourself.