Spatial Prepositions: A Case Study from French

Claude Vandeloise

University of Chicago Press, Oct 8, 1991 - Language Study - 265 pages

This striking study of the meaning and use of the major spatial prepositions in French provides valuable insight into how the human mind organizes spatial relationships.

Most previous analyses of spatial prepositions have assumed that their semantic properties can be adequately explained by familiar logical and geometrical concepts. Thus, the standard view of the preposition "in" as it appears in the sentence "the ball is in the bag" postulates that it refers to the geometrical relation of inclusion. This paradigm, however, falters when faced with the contrast in acceptability between sentences such as "the bulb is in the socket" and "the bottle is in the cap." The force exerted by the "landmark" (a conceptually fixed object) on the "target" (a moveable object) is crucial in this difference: the functional notion of containment seems more operational in the use of the preposition "in" than inclusion. That is, what are taken to be the landmark and the target depend greatly on the functions these objects serve in the human scheme. This offers important clues to otherwise problematic linguistic quirks, such as why one sleeps in one's bed, while one is said to lie on one's deathbed.

While many of the examples apply in English as well as French, there are some noteworthy differences—in French one sits on a chair, but in a couch. Vandeloise convincingly argues that it is precisely this subjective element which makes a standard geometrical account unfeasible.

Contents

• Beyond geometric and logical descriptions of space A functional description: 3
• The logical description of spatial prepositions: 9
• A functional description of spatial prepositions: 13
• The asymmetry of spatial relations: 21
• The relation of landmark and speaker: 24
• Directional and functional prepositions: 29
• The representation of objects: 32
• Intrinsic orientation of objects: 35
• The contextual orientation of objects: 38
• Concepts involved in the description of spatial prepositions: 43
• Prepositional use: 46
• Complex primitives and language acquisition: 54
• Pragmatic bridges and language acquisition: 61
• Review: 63
• SPATIAL PREPOSITIONS: 65
• The expressions près deloin de and accessibility: 67
• Accessibility and the norm: 68
• The description of the expressions près deloin de: 70
• A comparison of the expressions près deproche de: 72
• Positions on the vertical axis: 74
• The expressions audessus deen dessous de: 80
• The prepositions devantderrière and general orientation: 89
• The prepositions devantderrière and general orientation: 92
• The prepositional terms of the relations devantderrière: 101
• The expressions en face dedans le dos de and frontal direction: 104
• The expressions à gaucheà droite and lateral orientation: 109
• The advantages of lateral orientation over lateral direction: 112
• La gauchela droite: 117
• The prepositional terms of à gaucheà droite: 118
• The prepositions devantderrière and access to perception: 122
• A unified description of the English expressions in front ofin back of: 123
• The second usage rule of the prepositions devantderrière: 125
• The impetus of the prepositions devantderrière: 132
• The prepositions avantaprès and order in potential encounter: 134
• The prepositions avantaprès and order along a scale: 135
• The prepositions avantaprès and relative movement: 138
• Potential encounter: 148
• The expressions en avanten arrière: 150
• The distributions of avantaprès and devantderrière: 152
• The preposition à and localization: 157
• The preposition à and localization: 160
• The preposition à and integrated landmarks: 173
• Conclusions: 184
• The prepositions sursous and the bearerburden relation: 186
• The bearerburden relation and the impetus of the prepositions sursous: 194
• The development of sous based on its impetus: 197
• Comparison of the prepositions à and sur: 199
• Comparison of the prepositions centre and sur: 204
• The relation between the prepositions derrière and sous: 207
• The prepositions danshors de and the containercontained relation: 210
• Topological relations between the objects of the prepositions danshors de: 211
• Total inclusion and partial inclusion: 215
• The expression hors de and movement: 220
• The containercontained relation: 222
• A comparison of the prepositions dans sur and sous: 228
• The expression en dedansen dehors: 233
• CONCLUSIONS: 235
• NOTES: 239
• REFERENCES: 249
• INDEX: 255

About the author

Claude Vandeloise is associate professor in the Departments of French and Italian at Louisiana State University.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Spatial Prepositions: A Case Study from French
• Author: Claude Vandeloise
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1991
• ISBN: 0226847276, 9780226847276
• Length: 265 pages
• Subjects: Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics / General; Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics / Syntax; Language Study / French; Language Study / General