22.3288, Disc: Re: Prepositions: 'In' versus 'At'

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LINGUIST List: Vol-22-3288. Thu Aug 18 2011. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 22.3288, Disc: Re: Prepositions: 'In' versus 'At'

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1)
Date: 18-Aug-2011
From: Richard Hallett [R-Hallett at neiu.edu]
Subject: Re: Prepositions: 'In' versus 'At'
 

	
-------------------------Message 1 ---------------------------------- 
Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2011 11:23:34
From: Richard Hallett [R-Hallett at neiu.edu]
Subject: Re: Prepositions: 'In' versus 'At'

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I'm glad that Linguist List has started this discussion.  This summer my 
colleagues and I here at Northeastern Illinois University are teaching a group 
of Korean teachers of English, and recently I tried to explain this difference.
 
Years ago in an MA class in pedagogical grammar George Yule taught us to 
think of prepositions of motion as being three dimensional, i.e. specific 
points, lines/surfaces, and areas/volumes.  Accordingly, 'to' worked with 
points, 'on' with lines, and 'in' with areas.  (He was quick to point out that this 
classification system doesn't begin to account for all the quirky variation in 
English.)  Consider how addresses work.
 
We live AT 5500 North St. Louis Avenue.
We live ON St. Louis Avenue.
We live IN Chicago.
 
Whether we use 'at' or 'in(to)' depends largely on our conceptualization of a 
place.  Consider the following variation.
 
The train came to Chicago.
The train came into Chicago.
 
I would argue that in the first example Chicago is considered a point on a 
map, while in the second, Chicago is considered an area.  This explanation 
may explain the variation between meeting someone 'at the airport' vs. 
meeting someone 'in the airport'.
 
Moreover, 'at' refers to the edges of things:
 
We sat at the table.
The player swung at the ball.
The man kicked at the dog.
 
Note in the last example, the man didn't make contact with the dog.  (That 
would be cruel.)
 
Anyway, I just wanted to write in when a few examples while they were still 
fresh in my mind at this point in time.

Rick Hallett 


Linguistic Field(s): Discourse Analysis







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