Risk and Quantification: A Linguistic Study.

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Risk Analysis
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Risk is often defined quantitatively in research (e.g., probability x consequences).
• This study investigates the actual linguistic usage of the noun 'risk' regarding quantification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the extent of quantitative usage of the noun 'risk'.
• To analyze how 'risk' is quantified in linguistic corpora.
• To identify potential quantification bias in risk theory.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of over 16,000 uses of the noun 'risk' across four linguistic corpora (Swedish and English).
• Examination of random and complete samples from diverse sources like news, magazines, fiction, and government websites.
• Comparison of linguistic findings with quantitative definitions and fuzzy-trace theory.

Main Results:

• The noun 'risk' is predominantly used nonquantitatively.
• Quantitative uses of 'risk' are rarely numerical, often employing vague terms like 'high risk' or 'increased risk'.
• Low frequency of quantification suggests a bias towards overemphasizing numerical quantification in risk theory.

Conclusions:

• Linguistic evidence indicates that 'risk' is mainly conceptualized and communicated nonquantitatively.
• Vague representations, as predicted by fuzzy-trace theory, are prominent in the quantification of risk.
• Findings challenge the assumption of pervasive numerical quantification in risk discourse and theory.