A kinematic approach to the conceptual representations of this and that

Bonfiglioli, Claudia; Finocchiaro, Chiara; Gesierich, Benno; Rositani, Francesco; Vescovi, Massimo

doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2009.01.006

Cited by 39 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Experiment 2 falsifies this proposal, in showing that participants may prefer a proximal demonstrative for referents in the speaker's extrapersonal space. There are other theoretical and empirical arguments against the suggested parallel between perceptual and linguistic encoding of space (see e.g., Bonfiglioli et al, 2009;Kemmerer, 1999;Kirsner, 1993). As argued by Kemmerer (1999, p. 47), for instance, the mere existence of many languages in which there are three or more types of demonstrative shows that demonstrative systems need not correspond to the nearfar perceptual contrast.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When the objects were placed outside of the participants' reach, a non-proximal demonstrative was preferred (that in English; ese or aquel in Spanish). The authors conclude that spatial demonstratives are used on the basis of a perceptual distinction between peripersonal space near the speaker and extrapersonal space far away from the speaker (but see Bonfiglioli, Finocchiaro, Gesierich, Rositani, & Vescovi, 2009;Kemmerer, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Electrophysiological evidence for the role of shared space in online comprehension of spatial demonstratives

2015

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a b s t r a c tA fundamental property of language is that it can be used to refer to entities in the extralinguistic physical context of a conversation in order to establish a joint focus of attention on a referent. Typological and psycholinguistic work across a wide range of languages has put forward at least two different theoretical views on demonstrative reference. Here we contrasted and tested these two accounts by investigating the electrophysiological brain activity underlying the construction of indexical meaning in comprehension. In two EEG experiments, participants watched pictures of a speaker who referred to one of two objects using speech and an index-finger pointing gesture. In contrast with separately collected native speakers' linguistic intuitions, N400 effects showed a preference for a proximal demonstrative when speaker and addressee were in a face-to-face orientation and all possible referents were located in the shared space between them, irrespective of the physical proximity of the referent to the speaker. These findings reject egocentric proximity-based accounts of demonstrative reference, support a sociocentric approach to deixis, suggest that interlocutors construe a shared space during conversation, and imply that the psychological proximity of a referent may be more important than its physical proximity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrophysiological evidence for the role of shared space in online comprehension of spatial demonstratives

2015

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“…Similarly, Bonfiglioli et al (2009) showed that referents of demonstrative pronouns influence grasping actions directed towards objects located within arm's reach. In their experiment, participants were presented first with an auditory sentence containing the demonstrative pronoun for ''this'' or ''that'', and immediately after auditory offset participants were presented with two objects on a table.…”

Section: Sensorimotor Factors In Language-vision Interactionmentioning

confidence: 97%

On the mental representations originating during the interaction between language and vision

Mishra

Marmolejo‐Ramos

2010

Cogn Process

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The interaction between vision and language processing is clearly of interest to both cognitive psychologists and psycholinguists. Recent research has begun to create understanding of the interaction between vision and language in terms of the representational issues involved. In this paper, we first review some of the theoretical and methodological issues in the current vision-language interaction debate. Later, we develop a model that attempts to account for effects of affordances and visual context on language-scene interaction as well as the role of sensorimotor simulation. The paper addresses theoretical issues related to the mental representations that arise when visual and linguistic systems interact.

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“…One could ask whether the claim that words are tools can be generalized, i.e., whether other kinds of words can determine variations in the bodily space. Even if we are not aware of any evidence, we can speculate that even words like “the” or like “freedom,” which do not have a specific concrete counterpart, can expand our near space (for work on mapping between demonstratives such as “this” and “that” and near and far space, see Coventry et al, 2008, 2012; Bonfiglioli et al, 2009). As we say something to somebody else through words we somehow create a novel, shared space.…”

Section: Words As Social Tools and Space: Experimental Evidence And Amentioning

confidence: 99%

The embodied mind extended: using words as social tools

Borghi¹,

Scorolli²,

Caligiore³

et al. 2013

Front. Psychol.

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The extended mind view and the embodied-grounded view of cognition and language are typically considered as rather independent perspectives. In this paper we propose a possible integration of the two views and support it proposing the idea of “Words As social Tools” (WAT). In this respect, we will propose that words, also due to their social and public character, can be conceived as quasi-external devices that extend our cognition. Moreover, words function like tools in that they enlarge the bodily space of action thus modifying our sense of body. To support our proposal, we review the relevant literature on tool-use and on words as tools and report recent evidence indicating that word use leads to an extension of space close to the body. In addition, we outline a model of the neural processes that may underpin bodily space extension via word use and may reflect possible effects on cognition of the use of words as external means. We also discuss how reconciling the two perspectives can help to overcome the limitations they encounter if considered independently.

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A kinematic approach to the conceptual representations of this and that

Cited by 39 publications

References 11 publications

Electrophysiological evidence for the role of shared space in online comprehension of spatial demonstratives

Electrophysiological evidence for the role of shared space in online comprehension of spatial demonstratives

On the mental representations originating during the interaction between language and vision

The embodied mind extended: using words as social tools

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