Spatial language and cognition beyond Mesoamerica

中美洲以外的空间语言和认知

• 批准号: 1053123
• 负责人: Juergen Bohnemeyer
• 金额: $ 25.59万
• 依托单位: SUNY at Buffalo
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-06-01 至 2017-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1053123&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Spatial; language; cognition; beyond; Mesoamerica

How much spatial information is represented in language? To what extent do languages differ in the expression of geometrical and functional object structure? Is there variation in the role the human and animal body plays as a conceptual model of the structure of objects across languages? Do speakers of all languages employ the same conceptual processes in mapping the structure of the body into that of objects? Does the way the geometrical and functional structure of objects is conceptualized in different languages influence the way spatial relations are identified in these languages? And does the way speakers of different languages talk about spatial relations influence the way they memorize them? This project attempts to find answers to these and similar questions, based on an investigation of the representation of space in 25 languages spoken on five continents.The overarching question is that of linguistic vs. nonlinguistic determinants of reference frame use in language and internal cognition. Previous research has confirmed the co-occurrence of a bias against relative (observer-projected) frames and the highly productive use of "meronymic" terminologies that are based primarily on object geometry across the languages of the Mesoamerican area. To test the hypothesis that shape-based meronymy, used as a resource in spatial descriptions, is in fact a causal influence in frame use, four non-Mesoamerican languages of South America, Africa, and Asia will be examined. Preliminary reports suggest the presence of Mesoamerican-style geometric meronymy in these languages. The alternative hypothesis, according to which frame selection is not directly driven by language, but exclusively by non-linguistic factors, will be tested in eight Asian populations. Among Mesoamerican languages, the team will further investigate an unexpected apparent side effect of the predominance of object-centered geometry: the "principle of canonical orientation", which prevents English speakers from saying "The ball is under the chair" when it is placed on top of an inverted chair, may be language-specific.

语言中有多少空间信息？语言在几何和功能对象结构的表达上有多大的不同？人类和动物的身体作为物体结构的概念模型，在不同语言中所扮演的角色是否存在差异？所有语言的使用者在将身体的结构映射到物体的结构时都使用相同的概念过程吗？物体的几何结构和功能结构在不同语言中的概念化方式是否会影响空间关系在这些语言中的识别方式？不同语言的使用者谈论空间关系的方式会影响他们记忆空间关系的方式吗？这个项目试图通过对五大洲25种语言中空间表征的调查来找到这些问题和类似问题的答案。首要问题是语言和内部认知中参考框架使用的语言与非语言决定因素。以前的研究已经证实，共同出现的偏见，对相对（非对称投影）框架和高生产力的使用“部分”的术语，主要是基于对象的几何形状在整个语言的中美洲地区。为了检验这一假设，即形状为基础的meronymy，作为一种资源，在空间描述，实际上是一个因果关系的影响，在框架的使用，四个非中美洲语言的南美洲，非洲和亚洲将进行检查。初步报告表明，这些语言中存在中美洲风格的几何部分命名法。将在8个亚洲人群中检验备择假设，即框架选择不是直接由语言驱动，而是完全由非语言因素驱动。在中美洲语言中，研究小组将进一步研究以对象为中心的几何学占主导地位的一个意想不到的明显副作用：“规范方向原则”，当球被放在倒置的椅子上时，防止英语使用者说“球在椅子下面”，可能是语言特定的。