The Embodied Approach to the Polysemy of the Spatial Preposition On

Beitel, Dinara A.; Gibbs, Raymond W.; Sanders, Paul

doi:10.1075/cilt.177.11bei

Cited by 28 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…By focusing on differences between individual uses of in and on , other previous accounts (e.g., Beitel et al., ; Navarro i Ferrando, , ) may capture some subtle aspects of meaning that are not fully explained by a general difference in relative control between the prepositions. For example, Beitel et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…For example, Beitel et al. () argued that abstract uses of on draw on one or more spatial schemas ( support, pressure, constraint, covering, visibility ). Though the constraint schema involves relative degree of figure and ground control, the other schemas do not, and abstract uses that draw primarily on those schemas should not evoke relative control.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our proposal is that this distinction is also extended to abstract uses of in and on. Elements of this proposal have appeared in earlier accounts of abstract in and on use, beginning with Garrod and Sanford's (1989) proposal (see also Beitel, Gibbs, & Sanders, 2001;Evans, 2010;Navarro i Ferrando, 1999. However, we believe that this work is the first to test the prediction that abstract uses of in and on are distinguished by the degree of figure and ground control.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other accounts of the relationship between spatial and abstract uses of in and on (e.g., Beitel et al., ; Evans, ; Navarro i Ferrando, , ) have been quite varied, differing in the number and kind of basic spatial meanings proposed, in the kind of correspondence assumed between spatial meanings and abstract uses, and in the degree to which spatial and abstract uses are assumed to draw upon the same aspects of the meaning. In general, these accounts propose many specific ways in which abstract uses of in and on relate to the prepositions’ spatial uses, some of which allow for difference in degree of control.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Beitel et al. () proposed that abstract uses of on draw on one or more embodied spatial schemas ( support, pressure, constraint, covering, visibility ). Of the five spatial schemas they proposed, the one most similar to control is constraint of the figure by the ground.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Well‐Hidden Regularities: Abstract Uses ofinandonRetain an Aspect of Their Spatial Meaning

Jamrozik

Gentner²

2015

Cognitive Science

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Prepositions name spatial relationships (e.g., book on a table). But they are also used to convey abstract, non-spatial relationships (e.g., Adrian is on a roll)-raising the question of how the abstract uses relate to the concrete spatial uses. Despite considerable success in delineating these relationships, no general account exists for the two most frequently extended prepositions: in and on. We test the proposal that what is preserved in abstract uses of these prepositions is the relative degree of control between the located object (the figure) and the reference object (the ground). Across four experiments, we find a continuum of greater figure control for on (e.g., Jordan is on a roll) and greater ground control for in (e.g., Casey is in a depression). These findings bear on accounts of semantic structure and language change, as well as on second language instruction.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Well‐Hidden Regularities: Abstract Uses ofinandonRetain an Aspect of Their Spatial Meaning

Jamrozik

Gentner²

2015

Cognitive Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Fostering Conceptual Understanding Through Computer‐Based Animated Schematic Diagrams and Cue Contrast

Wong

2022

TESOL Quarterly

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Informed by two usage‐based approaches, this study investigated to what extent different types of computer‐based training facilitated English preposition learning among intermediate Chinese learners of English. The design of the pedagogical materials was informed by the cognitive linguistics (CL) framework while the training format was motivated by the competition model (MacWhinney, 1997). A total of 91 participants were randomly assigned to one of four types of computer‐based training: animated schematic diagrams with CL explanations, rules, and exemplars (i.e., rule‐of‐thumb definitions with three example sentences), correctness feedback (i.e., correct vs. incorrect), and the control, who received training on English Articles. For the three prepositional treatment groups, two layers of mediation were provided: (i) implicit prompts to guide decision making in selecting the correct preposition and (ii) explicit feedback on the selection. Results showed that the computer‐based training was effective across the three treatment groups, as measured by an untimed grammaticality judgment test and a picture elicitation test. Additionally, on the picture elicitation test, the schematic mediation group outperformed the rule and exemplar mediation group at the posttest and the correctness mediation group at the delayed posttest respectively. The data suggest there is a need to introduce various assessment task types to capture a more holistic understanding of participants' L2 development.

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The Semantics of English Prepositions

2003

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Using a cognitive linguistics perspective, this book provides a comprehensive, theoretical analysis of the semantics of English prepositions. All English prepositions originally coded spatial relations between two physical entities; while retaining their original meaning, prepositions have also developed a rich set of non-spatial meanings. In this study, Tyler and Evans argue that all these meanings are systematically grounded in the nature of human spatio-physical experience. The original 'spatial scenes' provide the foundation for the extension of meaning from the spatial to the more abstract. This analysis articulates an alternative methodology that distinguishes between a conventional meaning and an interpretation produced for understanding the preposition in context, as well as establishing which of several competing senses should be taken as the primary sense. Together, the methodology and framework are sufficiently articulated to generate testable predictions and allow the analysis to be applied to additional prepositions.

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The Embodied Approach to the Polysemy of the Spatial Preposition On

Cited by 28 publications

References 0 publications

Well‐Hidden Regularities: Abstract Uses ofinandonRetain an Aspect of Their Spatial Meaning

Well‐Hidden Regularities: Abstract Uses ofinandonRetain an Aspect of Their Spatial Meaning

Fostering Conceptual Understanding Through Computer‐Based Animated Schematic Diagrams and Cue Contrast

The Semantics of English Prepositions

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