{"id":2231,"date":"2012-08-23T20:00:16","date_gmt":"2012-08-23T18:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/elanguage.net\/blogs\/booknotices\/?p=2231"},"modified":"2012-08-22T10:47:38","modified_gmt":"2012-08-22T08:47:38","slug":"language-cognition-and-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/?p=2231","title":{"rendered":"Language, cognition, and space"},"content":{"rendered":"
Language, cognition, and space: <\/strong>The state of the art and new directions.<\/strong> Ed. by Vyvyan Evans <\/strong>and Paul Chilton<\/strong>. (Advances in cognitive linguistics.) London: Equinox, 2010. Pp. iii, 519. ISBN 9781845535018<\/a>. $68.<\/div>\n

Reviewed by Melanie McComsey<\/a><\/strong>, University of California, San Diego<\/em><\/p>\n

This book comes at a time of renewed interest in Benjamin Lee Whorf\u2019s linguistic relativity hypothesis within the language sciences. It explores the relationship between linguistic variation and non-linguistic cognition via the semantic domain of space.<\/p>\n

Following Paul Chilton<\/strong>\u2019s brief introduction comes Part 1, \u2018Perception and space\u2019, consisting of Vyvyan Evans<\/strong>\u2019 chapter \u2018The perceptual basis of spatial representation\u2019, which grounds spatial conceptualization, and indeed the book itself, in human biological systems.<\/p>\n

Part 2, \u2018The interaction between language and spatial cognition\u2019, takes on linguistic relativity. In \u2018Language and space: Momentary interactions\u2019, Barbara Landau<\/strong>, Banchiamlack Dessalegn<\/strong>, and Ariel Micah Goldberg<\/strong> seek middle ground in the relativity debate, arguing that language affects spatial cognition online but not permanently. \u2018Language and inner space\u2019, by Benjamin Bergen<\/strong>, Carl Polley<\/strong>, and Kathryn Wheeler<\/strong>, reveals the surprising relationship between neurocognitive mechanisms for understanding spatial language and for perceiving space itself.<\/p>\n

The chapters in Part 3, \u2018Typological, psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic approaches to spatial representation\u2019, each feature one of those three methodologies. \u2018Inside in<\/em> and on<\/em>: Typological and psycholinguistic perspectives\u2019 by Michele Feist<\/strong>, \u2018Parsing space around objects\u2019 by Laura Carlson<\/strong>, and \u2018A neuroscientific perspective on the linguistic encoding of categorical spatial relations\u2019 by David Kemmerer<\/strong> each model the value of cross-disciplinary approaches to space and language.<\/p>\n

Part 4, \u2018Theoretical approaches to spatial representation in language\u2019, advances several innovative theories each taking prepositions as inspiration. In \u2018Genesis of spatial terms\u2019, Claude Vandeloise<\/strong> explores processes of lexical formation, while \u2018Forceful Prepositions\u2019 by Joost Zwarts<\/strong> brings together the spatial domain and force-dynamics through the notion of vector. Evans\u2019 chapter, \u2018From the spatial to the non-spatial: The \u201cState\u201d lexical concepts of in<\/em>, on<\/em> and at<\/em>\u2019, refines an earlier theory to account for polysemy as an outcome of situated language use.<\/p>\n

Parts 5 and 6 offer rich descriptive evidence for how spatial language and concepts are deployed in spoken language, signed language, and gesture. These chapters include \u2018Static topological relations in Basque\u2019 by Iraide Ibarretxe-Antu\u00f1ano<\/strong>; \u2018Taking the principled polysemy model of spatial particles beyond English: The case of Russian za<\/em>\u2019 by Darya Shakhova<\/strong> and Andrea Tyler<\/strong>; \u2018Frames of reference, effects of motion, and lexical meanings of Japanese front\/back terms\u2019 by Kazuko Shinohara<\/strong> and Yoshihiro Matsunaka<\/strong>; \u2018How spoken language and signed language structure space differently\u2019 by Leonard Talmy<\/strong>; and \u2018Geometric and image-schematic patterns in gesture space\u2019 by Irene Mittelberg<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Part 7 transitions from static location to the domain of motion with two pieces offering modifications of Leonard Talmy\u2019s classic typology. In \u2018Translocation, language and the categorization of experience\u2019, Jordan Zlatev<\/strong>, Johan Blomberg<\/strong>, and Caroline David<\/strong> propose a typology of \u2018motion situations\u2019 based on human experience. In \u2018Motion: A conceptual typology\u2019, St\u00e9phanie Pourcel<\/strong>\u2019s typology is based on \u2018language-neutral\u2019 conceptual categories.<\/p>\n

Part 8, \u2018The relation between space, time and modality\u2019, is comprised of Daniel Casasanto<\/strong>\u2019s \u2018Space for thinking\u2019, J\u00f6rg Zinken<\/strong>\u2019s \u2018Temporal frames of reference\u2019, and Chilton\u2019s \u2018From mind to grammar: Coordinate systems, prepositions, constructions\u2019. These chapters consider the relevance of space in metaphor and non-spatial domains.<\/p>\n

This ambitious project reveals extraordinary breadth, showcasing the truly interdisciplinary nature of current research on space and language. The book features scholars both well established and from a new generation, and heralds exciting new directions for this burgeoning area of study.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Language, cognition, and space: The state of the art and new directions. Ed. by Vyvyan Evans and Paul Chilton. (Advances in cognitive linguistics.) London: Equinox, 2010. Pp. iii, 519. ISBN 9781845535018. $68. Reviewed by Melanie McComsey, University of California, San Diego This book comes at a time of renewed interest in Benjamin Lee Whorf\u2019s linguistic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2231"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2231"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2232,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2231\/revisions\/2232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}