Space as time: temporalization and other special functions of locational-setting adverbials

Abstract

The basic semantic function of locational elements with the syntactic status of c lause modifier is typically assumed to be the establishing of a (spatial, temporal, or other) setting, within which entities interact and processesunfold. Less attention has been paid to structures where several settingsare connected to the same predicate, and to the mutual semantic relationof the settings in these structures. In this article evidence is produced for the argument that these constructions (called multiple locational specifications) reveal a scope relation between the settings such that a semantically higher domain dominates a lower one. For instance, in the sentence On Monday nights, Ollie played chess with Arthur in London, time dominates space by confining the spatial relation between Ollie and London to Monday nights only. The opposite scope relation can be achieved by creating a special interpretation of the lower domain. For instance, space can dominate time only if it acquires a temporal sense itself. Such a reading foregrounds the duration of the presence of an entity in the space. Syntactically, this effect is created by word order; e.g. In London, Ollie played chess with Arthur on Monday nights evokes a temporal reading for in London (‘when in London’), enabling it to include on Monday nights within its scope. It is argued in this paper that temporal and other special interpretations are quite productive and possible for many different kinds of domain.