Holistic spatial semantics and post-Talmian motion event typology: A case study of Thai and Telugu

Abstract

Leonard Talmy’s influential binary motion event typology has encountered four main challenges: (a) additional language types; (b) extensive “type-internal” variation; (c) the role of other relevant form classes than verbs and “satellites;” and (d) alternative definitions of key semantic concepts like Motion, Path and Manner. After reviewing these issues, we show that the theory ofHolistic Spatial Semanticsprovides analytical tools for their resolution. In support, we present an analysis of motion event descriptions by speakers of two languages that are troublesome for the original typology: Thai (Tai-Kadai) and Telugu (Dravidian), based on the Frog-story elicitation procedure. Despite some apparently similar typological features, the motion event descriptions in the two languages were found to be significantly different. The Telugu participants used very few verbs in contrast to extensive case marking to express Path and nominals to express Region and Landmark, while the Thai speakers relied largely on serial verbs for expressing Path and on prepositions for expressing Region. Combined with previous research in the field, our findings imply (at least) four different clusters of languages in motion event typology with Telugu and Thai as representative of two such clusters, languages like French and Spanish representing a third cluster, and Swedish and English a fourth. This also implies that many other languages like Italian, Bulgarian, and Basque will appear as “mixed languages,” positioned between two or three of these clusters.

Motion event descriptions in Swedish, French, Thai and Telugu: a study in post-Talmian motion event typology

“…Aiming to contribute to this quest, the authors used a particular theoretical model, Holistic Spatial Semantics (HSS), aiming to show that it is capable of addressing challenges such as those stated in the previous paragraphs. In support of this claim, Naidu et al (2018) showed that Thai and Telugu speakers used significantly different patterns in the expression of self-motion events, and thus that the two languages cannot coalesce into a third "equipollent type". At the same time, both languages differ substantially from the two original Talmian types, exemplified by languages like Swedish and French, respectively.…”

“…Hence, in the last decade or so the field can be said to have moved into a "post-Talmian" terrain of motion typology research (Naidu et al 2018), with various proposals on how to develop a better model. Least radical are those, such as that of Slobin (2004), to extend the typology with a third, "equipollently-framed" type, where Path and Manner of motion are expressed in structurally similar ways, as by different verbs in serial-verb constructions in Thai.…”

“…Summarizing much of this critique of the Talmian binary model, and the surge of recent alternatives, Naidu et al (2018) conclude that "current work on motion event semantics can be regarded as 'post-Talmian' in the sense that the field is both indebted to the model and agrees that a more adequate theory is called for." Aiming to contribute to this quest, the authors used a particular theoretical model, Holistic Spatial Semantics (HSS), aiming to show that it is capable of addressing challenges such as those stated in the previous paragraphs.…”

“…At the same time, both languages differ substantially from the two original Talmian types, exemplified by languages like Swedish and French, respectively. Hence, Naidu et al (2018) asked a key question and proposed a hypothesis:…”

“…In Section 2, we describe our theoretical framework, which is essentially the same as that used by Naidu et al (2018), Holistic Spatial Semantics (HSS). But given the need for conceptual clarity, we also summarise the taxonomy of motion situations proposed by Zlatev, Blomberg, and David (2010), which also served as the basis for designing the mentioned novel elicitation tool.…”