The role of nongeometric information in spatial language.

摘要

Across languages, there exists a relatively small number of spatial prepositions. These terms are used to express the infinite number of possible spatial locations of an unlimited number of different entities in the environment. Previous research suggests that this is accomplished by spatial prepositions only considering rough geometric properties of the things being located and the environment in which they are located. The present study explores the role of two types of nongeometric information relevant to spatial language in English: the manner in which ground objects are construed, and knowledge of the functional properties of objects. It is argued that although there are many other kinds of nongeometric information about entities in the environment, these are the only two kinds of nongeometric information that affect spatial language. Chapter 2 examines the effects of the construal of ground objects on spatial language. Experiments 1-A and 1-B suggest that construing an entity as either an object or as an amount of substance affects how natural the prepositions in and near are when used to describe the location of a figure object relative to the entity used as a ground object. Chapter 3 examines the effects of functional relationships on expressions of relative distance. Experiment 2 and 3 suggest that functional relationships can affect how qualified relative distances between objects are talked about. Experiments 4 and 5 suggest that the presence of a functional relationship between two objects does not change the ratings of distance between the two objects, but can modulate the scale by which the relative distance between two objects is judged. Chapter 4 examines the effects of functional information in determining the intrinsic orientations of objects. Experiments 6, 7, and 8 suggest that when functional information about an object is present, it is used to determine the object's intrinsic orientation. Experiment 9 suggest that when functional information is not present, the geometric properties of an object are used to infer the object's function. The intrinsic orientation of the object is then based on the inferred function of the object.