Conceptual space
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Jennie L. Wakefield
Abstract
This paper describes the essential cognitive and neurobiological relationships between spatial structure (SpS) and conceptual structure (CS), as relevant for language. We provide evidence that SpS and its underlying anatomical regions (ventral premotor cortex and posterior parietal cortex) are the essential evolutionary precursors of CS and the brain areas that in turn underlie it, namely Broca’s area and the parietal-occipital-temporal junction (POT). We outline a scenario in which a restricted class of SpS primitives – defined as the subset of inherent, action-related spatial property representations of body parts, objects, and extrapersonal locations – translates evolutionarily into the fundamental class of primitives (including Theme, Location, Source, and Goal) that define the content and organization of the spatial tier of CS.
Abstract
This paper describes the essential cognitive and neurobiological relationships between spatial structure (SpS) and conceptual structure (CS), as relevant for language. We provide evidence that SpS and its underlying anatomical regions (ventral premotor cortex and posterior parietal cortex) are the essential evolutionary precursors of CS and the brain areas that in turn underlie it, namely Broca’s area and the parietal-occipital-temporal junction (POT). We outline a scenario in which a restricted class of SpS primitives – defined as the subset of inherent, action-related spatial property representations of body parts, objects, and extrapersonal locations – translates evolutionarily into the fundamental class of primitives (including Theme, Location, Source, and Goal) that define the content and organization of the spatial tier of CS.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Phrasal and clausal architecture 1
- Restructuring and clausal architecture in Kannada 8
- The position of adverbials 25
- Bare, generic, mass, and referential Arabic DPs 40
- The possessor raising construction and the interpretation of subject 66
- Syntactic labels and their derivations 93
- Separating “Focus Movement” from Focus 108
- In search for Phases 146
- Wh-movement, interpretation, and optionality in Persian 167
- Structure preservingness, internal Merge, and the strict locality of triads 188
- Using description to teach (about) prescription 206
- ‘More complicated and hence, rarer’ 221
- Prescriptive grammar 243
- The syntax of valuation and the interpretability of features 262
- Linear sequencing strategies or UG-defined hierarchical structures in L2 acquisition? 295
- Minimalism vs. organic syntax 319
- Location and locality 339
- Conceptual space 365
- ‘Adjunct theta-roles’ and the configurational determination of roles 396
- Author index 412
- Subject index 417
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Phrasal and clausal architecture 1
- Restructuring and clausal architecture in Kannada 8
- The position of adverbials 25
- Bare, generic, mass, and referential Arabic DPs 40
- The possessor raising construction and the interpretation of subject 66
- Syntactic labels and their derivations 93
- Separating “Focus Movement” from Focus 108
- In search for Phases 146
- Wh-movement, interpretation, and optionality in Persian 167
- Structure preservingness, internal Merge, and the strict locality of triads 188
- Using description to teach (about) prescription 206
- ‘More complicated and hence, rarer’ 221
- Prescriptive grammar 243
- The syntax of valuation and the interpretability of features 262
- Linear sequencing strategies or UG-defined hierarchical structures in L2 acquisition? 295
- Minimalism vs. organic syntax 319
- Location and locality 339
- Conceptual space 365
- ‘Adjunct theta-roles’ and the configurational determination of roles 396
- Author index 412
- Subject index 417
