Spatial Prepositions: A Case Study from French

Abstract

This striking study of meaning and use of major spatial prepositions French provides valuable insight into how 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, standard view of preposition as it appears sentence the ball is bag postulates that it refers to geometrical relation of inclusion. This paradigm, however, falters when faced with contrast acceptability between sentences such as the bulb is socket and the bottle is cap. The force exerted by (a conceptually fixed object) (a moveable object) is crucial this difference: functional notion of containment seems more operational use of preposition than inclusion. That is, what are taken to be landmark and target depend greatly functions these objects serve human scheme. This offers important clues to otherwise problematic linguistic quirks, such as why one sleeps one's bed, while one is said to lie on one's deathbed. While many of examples apply English as well as French, there are some noteworthy differences 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.

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