Saying, Seeing and Acting: The Psychological Semantics of Spatial Prepositions

by Coventry,Kenny R.

• ISBN13: 9781841691169
• ISBN10: 184169116X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-03-26
• Publisher: Psychology Pres

Summary

When we speak about the spatial locations of objects are we simply saying where they are, or are we also pointing to something about their function? This is the question explored inSaying, Seeing and Acting. Coventry and Garrod aim to account not only for our theoretical comprehension of spatial relations but also for our ability to interact competently with the world of spatially related objects. This book demonstrates how many everyday uses of spatial prepositions can be ambiguous in spatial terms and yet meaningful in terms of an object's function. The terms of the debate are established and contextualised in part 1. In part two systematic experimental evidence is drawn upon to demonstrate specific interrelation between spatial world and spatial language. The authors go on to give an original account of the interpretative norms on which human action among spatially related objects is based. Part 3 looks at the interaction of these norms to create a truly dynamic functional geometric frameworkfor the meaningful use of spatial prepositions. Fascinating to anyone whose work touches on psycholinguistics, this book represents a thorough and incisive contribution to debates in the cognitive psychology of language.

Table of Contents

Preface	x
Acknowledgements	xi
Figure acknowledgements	xxi
PART I: SAYING, SEEING, AND ACTING: BACKGROUND TO THE DOMAIN	1	(70)
1. Introduction to the domain	3	(12)
Spatial prepositions: classifications and boundaries	6	(6)
Saying, seeing, and acting: précis of the argument	12	(3)
2. Saying: spatial prepositions and lexical semantics	15	(22)
Spatial language, spatial relations, and minimal specification	15	(9)
Herskovits: ideal meanings, use types, and pragmatic principles	24	(4)
Lakoff, Brugman, and...dangerous things	28	(5)
Embodiment, action, and spatial language	33	(2)
Summary	35	(2)
3. Grounding language in perception: from "saying" to "seeing and acting"	37	(34)
The geometry of spatial relations	40	(3)
Perceptual approaches to spatial relations	43	(8)
The importance of action: extra-geometric relations considered	51	(3)
The functional geometric framework	54	(8)
Perceptual origins of the functional geometric framework	62	(5)
Summary and conclusions	67	(4)
PART II: SAYING, SEEING, AND ACTING: EVIDENCE FOR THE FUNCTIONAL GEOMETRIC FRAMEWORK	71	(54)
4. Experimental evidence for the functional geometric framework 1: the so-called topological prepositions	73	(18)
In	73	(11)
On	84	(4)
Summary	88	(3)
5. Experimental evidence for the functional geometric framework 2: which way up is up? The projective prepositions	91	(22)
Reference frames and projective terms	92	(8)
Geometric and dynamic-kinematic routines	100	(9)
Conceptual knowledge and context effects	109	(3)
Summary and conclusions	112	(1)
6. Experimental evidence for the functional geometric framework 3: other prepositions-proximity, coincidence, and being between	113	(12)
Proximity terms: how near is near?	113	(2)
Near and far	115	(3)
At	118	(2)
Between	120	(3)
Summary	123	(2)
PART III: PUTTING, SEEING, AND ACTING TOGETHER: THE FUNCTIONAL GEOMETRIC FRAMEWORK IN ACTION	125	(52)
7. Putting it all together	127	(20)
The need for situation models: the general argument	127	(7)
The functional geometric framework in action: multiple constraints and spatial language comprehension	134	(10)
Towards weighting constraints by preposition: delineating routines and functions by terms	144	(2)
Summary	146	(1)
8. Cross-linguistic and developmental implications	147	(18)
The prelinguistic origins of the functional geometric framework	147	(6)
The acquisition of spatial prepositions in English	153	(4)
Functional geometry in languages other than English	157	(4)
Linguistic relativity and the underlying structure of spatial representations for language	161	(2)
Summary	163	(2)
9. Extensions, links, and conclusions	165	(12)
The functional geometric framework, embodiment, and situated action	165	(2)
Computational modelling and the neural correlates of spatial language comprehension and production	167	(5)
Metaphorical uses of spatial prepositions and underlying models	172	(2)
The functional geometric framework and other syntactic categories	174	(2)
Conclusions	176	(1)
References	177	(14)
Author index	191	(6)
Subject index	197