How Language Locates Events

  • Published : 1999.03.01

Abstract

This paper argues that the basic modes of spatial cognition can be best identified in terms of argument/participant location, and shows that natural language uses‘simple’types of semantic denotations to encode spatial cognition, and further notes that spatial expressions should be interpreted not as locating an event/state as a whole but as locating arguments/participants of the event. The ways of locating events/states are identified in terms of argument orientation(AO), Which indicates semantic patterns of linkiarticipant location. and shows that natural langrage uses ng locatives to specific arguments. Four patterns of argument orientation described here reveal substantial modes of spatial cognition. and the AO patterns are mostly determined by the semantic classes of English verbs combining with locative expressions, i.e., by the event type of the predicate. As for the denotational constraint of locatives, the paper concludes that semantic denotations of locative PPs are restricted to the intersecting functions mapping relations to relations.

본 논문은 사건/사타에 대한 공간적 인지가 수행되는 기본적인 방식을 규명하기 위해서는 그 사건/사태에 참여하는 참가자의 위치가 가장 주요한 요인임을 주장하고, 자연언어는 공간적 인지를 표현하기 위해 비교적 "단순한" 의미유형을 사용하고 있으며, 공간표현을 해석할 때 사건/사태 전체의 위치를 지정하는 것으로 해석하지 않고, 그 참가자로 표현된 논항(arguments)의 위치를 지정하는 것으로 해석한다는 것이다. 본 논문은 장소표현이 타동사의 두 논항의 위치를 지정하는 방식을 네 가지 유형의 노항지향성(argument orientations)으로 분류하여 기술하였고, 논항지향성을 통하여 영어를 포함한 자연언어의 장소표현이 관계(relations)의 집합에서 관계의 집합으로 사상하는 교차함수(intersecting functioins)로 해석되어야 한다는 의미해석상의 제약이 있음을 밝히고 있다.

Keywords

References

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