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

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.