Variation in spatial language and cognition: exploring visuo-spatial thinking and speaking cross-linguistically

Cogn Process. 2012 Aug:13 Suppl 1:S333-7. doi: 10.1007/s10339-012-0494-4.

Abstract

Languages differ strikingly in how they encode spatial information. This variability is realized with spatial semantic elements mapped across languages in very different ways onto lexical/syntactic structures. For example, satellite-framed languages (e.g., English) express MANNER: in the verb and PATH: in satellites, while verb-framed languages (e.g., French) lexicalize PATH: in the verb, leaving MANNER: implicit or peripheral. Some languages are harder to classify into these categories, rather presenting equipollently framed systems, such as Chinese (serial-verb constructions) or Greek (parallel verb- and satellite-framed structures in equally frequent contexts). Such properties seem to have implications not only on the formulation/articulation levels, but also on the conceptualization level, thereby reviving questions concerning the language-thought interface. The present study investigates the relative impact of language-independent and language-specific factors on spatial representations across three typologically different languages (English-French-Greek) combining a variety of complementary tasks (production, non-verbal, and verbal categorization). The findings show that typological properties of languages can have an impact on both linguistic and non-linguistic organization of spatial information, open new perspectives for the investigation of conceptualization, and contribute more generally to the debate concerning the universal and language-specific dimensions of cognition.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Cognition / physiology*
  • Cross-Cultural Comparison*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Language*
  • Male
  • Photic Stimulation
  • Space Perception / physiology*
  • Speech / physiology*
  • Thinking / physiology*
  • Vocabulary
  • Young Adult