Spatial Prepositions

Spatial Prepositions
Author :
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Total Pages : 288
Release :
ISBN-10 : 0226847284
ISBN-13 : 9780226847283
Rating : 4/5 (283 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Spatial Prepositions by : Claude Vandeloise

Download or read book Spatial Prepositions written by Claude Vandeloise and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1991-10-08 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This striking study of the meaning and use of the major spatial prepositions in French provides valuable insight into how the human mind organizes spatial relationships. Most previous analyses of spatial prepositions have assumed that their semantic properties can be adequately explained by familiar logical and geometrical concepts. Thus, the standard view of the preposition "in" as it appears in the sentence "the ball is in the bag" postulates that it refers to the geometrical relation of inclusion. This paradigm, however, falters when faced with the contrast in acceptability between sentences such as "the bulb is in the socket" and "the bottle is in the cap." The force exerted by the "landmark" (a conceptually fixed object) on the "target" (a moveable object) is crucial in this difference: the functional notion of containment seems more operational in the use of the preposition "in" than inclusion. That is, what are taken to be the landmark and the target depend greatly on the functions these objects serve in the human scheme. This offers important clues to otherwise problematic linguistic quirks, such as why one sleeps in one's bed, while one is said to lie on one's deathbed. While many of the examples apply in English as well as French, there are some noteworthy differences—in French one sits on a chair, but in a couch. Vandeloise convincingly argues that it is precisely this subjective element which makes a standard geometrical account unfeasible.


Spatial Prepositions Related Books

Spatial Prepositions
Language: en
Pages: 288
Authors: Claude Vandeloise
Categories: Foreign Language Study
Type: BOOK - Published: 1991-10-08 - Publisher: University of Chicago Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This striking study of the meaning and use of the major spatial prepositions in French provides valuable insight into how the human mind organizes spatial relat
Saying, Seeing and Acting
Language: en
Pages: 227
Authors: Kenny R. Coventry
Categories: Psychology
Type: BOOK - Published: 2004-07-31 - Publisher: Psychology Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Our use of spatial prepositions carries an implicit understanding of the functional relationships both between objects themselves and human interaction with tho
The Semantics of Prepositions
Language: en
Pages: 537
Authors: Cornelia Zelinsky-Wibbelt
Categories: Language Arts & Disciplines
Type: BOOK - Published: 2011-09-06 - Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Semantics of English Prepositions
Language: en
Pages: 270
Authors: Andrea Tyler
Categories: Language Arts & Disciplines
Type: BOOK - Published: 2003-06-05 - Publisher: Cambridge University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Using a cognitive linguistics perspective, this book provides a comprehensive, theoretical analysis of the semantics of English prepositions. All English prepos
The Cognitive Perspective on the Polysemy of the English Spatial Preposition Over
Language: en
Pages: 311
Authors: Maria Brenda
Categories: Language Arts & Disciplines
Type: BOOK - Published: 2014-09-18 - Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This volume investigates the English spatial preposition over and prepositions in general, frequently regarded as function words with little semantic content, a