Does で in this sentence 「日本の昔話は代表的なものだけで、２，３百はあります。」 mean that the noun before it is a tool for the proceding sentence?

Question

I would translate this sentence

日本の昔話は代表的なものだけで、２，３百はあります。

as "Japanese folktales has about 200, 300 as only representative of it". My question is does で after だけ mean that the noun before it acts as a tool for the proceding sentence?

My translation is awkward but I think that that's what the sentence mean. Is my translation correct? Or is there a better way to translate it and what is that better way? Also how do I factor "de" in translating this sentence?

Answer 1

Your translation does seem awkward to me, so let's check what it means first:

• 日本の昔話は二、三百あります。
  There are 200 to 300 Japanese folktales.
• 日本の昔話は二、三百はあります。
  There are at least 200 or 300 Japanese folktales.
• 日本の昔話は代表的なものだけで二、三百はあります。
  Counting only the major ones, there are at least 200 or 300 Japanese folktales.

The particle で after 代表的なものだけ is a scope/condition marker rather than a method marker. It marks the condition for the following expression to hold true. Similar examples include:

• 合計で30人います。
  There are 30 people in total.
• 最大で3万円かかります。
  It will cost up to 30,000 yen.
• 追加で50個注文しました。
  I ordered additional 50 units.
• 今日だけで単語を100個覚えました。
  Today alone, I learned 100 words.
• ある意味で興味深い。
  It's interesting in one sense.

Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all English expression that corresponds to this type of で, so you'll need to get used to them individually.