16.2207, Review: Semantics/Psycholing: Carlson & van der Zee (2004)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-16-2207. Mon Jul 18 2005. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 16.2207, Review: Semantics/Psycholing: Carlson & van der Zee (2004)

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1)
Date: 18-Jul-2005
From: Thora Tenbrink < tenbrink at informatik.uni-bremen.de >
Subject: Functional Features in Language and Space 

	
-------------------------Message 1 ---------------------------------- 
Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2005 18:14:18
From: Thora Tenbrink < tenbrink at informatik.uni-bremen.de >
Subject: Functional Features in Language and Space 
 

EDITORS: Carlson, Laura; van der Zee, Emile
TITLE: Functional Features in Language and Space
SERIES: Explorations in Language and Space
PUBLISHER: Oxford University Press
YEAR: 2004
Announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/15/15-2285.html


Thora Tenbrink, University of Bremen, Germany

OVERVIEW

This book is a fairly large collection of edited high-quality papers 
written by a broad range of researchers most of whom are internationally 
established. It addresses the ways in which functions and features of 
objects and (spatial) scenarios influence the conceptualisation and 
verbalisation of the associated actions and relations. Based on a highly 
productive workshop at the University of Notre Dame within the series of 
Language and Space in 2001, the book has undergone a thorough review 
process. The result is a valuable contribution to the currently blooming 
research field of Spatial Cognition, which successfully integrates a broad 
range of different disciplines. Although the focus of the current book is 
clearly on language, the topic is approached from many different 
viewpoints and research directions that enhance our understanding of human 
cognition. The papers are kept concise and rather short (typically around 
14 pages), which enhances readability, and they are ordered according to 
their focus of interest (rather than subdiscipline). Each paper starts 
with a brief description of their central notion of "functional" or a 
related central notion of the contribution.

1. Functional Features in Language and Space (Carlson & van der Zee).
This introductory chapter motivates the topic and presents the four major 
sections of the book. Each chapter is categorised in terms of I. Features, 
II., Function, III. Features that are functional, or IV. Overview. While 
at first this division may seem arbitrary since all contributions in some 
way deal with "functional features in language and space" as the book 
title suggests, it becomes clear that these terms are highly ambiguous and 
are indeed treated in very different ways by the authors. Thus, the 
partitioning serves to highlight different emphases of the authors' 
approaches. Nevertheless, other ways of assembling the papers 
systematically could have been more obvious. The introductory chapter 
succeeds in working out the "big picture" by pointing to the variability 
as well as shared issues throughout the book.

Part I. Features: Derived from Perception, Action, and Embodiment

2. Language is Grounded in Action (Arthur Glenberg and Michael Kaschak).
The features of objects influence the ways in which these can be used for 
interaction. This notion is captured in terms of "affordances". While a 
number of affordances are generally associated with certain objects (e.g., 
a chair is a thing to sit in), the present paper deals with novel ways of 
interaction that may be created on the spot precisely because the objects 
allow for flexible conceptualisations of affordances.  For example, a map -
 but not a rock - may be used to fan a fire. Thus, meaning is rooted in 
(conceivable) action. This observation leads to the "Action-sentence 
Compatibility Effect", which has consequences even with respect to actions 
and sentences that are not directly related (e.g., comprehending "forward" 
while moving backward).

3. The Bicycle Pedal is in Front of the Table. Why some Objects do not Fit 
into some Spatial Relations (Manuel de Vega and María J. Rodrigo).
The authors describe two previously published studies that address 
directional terms like "in front of", "above" and the like. The first 
study, a comparison between pointing gestures and verbalisations of 
spatial directions, leads to the idea that linguistic representations rely 
on "second order embodiment" while pointing is associated with direct 
or "first order embodiment". The second study is a corpus investigation of 
the features of entities that are used for spatial descriptions, either as 
Figure or as Ground. A number of systematic tendencies were detected for 
speakers' spontaneous choices, showing differences between the horizontal 
and the vertical dimensions. Most of these can be explained naturally by 
conceptual aspects.

4. Dissociation between Verbal and Pointing Responding in Perspective 
Change Problems (Ranxiao Frances Wang).
Wang reports about two experiments addressing mental rotation tasks. The 
first experiment addresses the question whether pointing responses may be 
improved if participants are allowed extra time for imagination of mental 
rotation. This is not the case. The second experiment compares pointing 
and verbal responses in a similar way as the first experiment in Chapter 
3, also alloting rotation time. Verbal response times are similar under 
rotation as without rotation. The author concludes that mental 
representations are not accessible to different cognitive systems to the 
same degree, so that "functional features defined with respect to one 
cognitive system may not generalize to another cognitive system" (p.39).

5. An Ecological Approach to the Interface between Language and Vision 
(Rajesh Kasturirangan).
The author argues against the "canonical model" according to which there 
is a clear correspondence between spatial language and objective reality. 
He offers a computational framework that incorporates the notion of 
embodiment and highlights the claim that contextual influences and 
schematization are consequences of common regular ecological constraints. 
In this approach, three levels of representation - coordinate frames, 
topological, and metric structures - are ordered hierarchically and 
reflected to different degrees in language and perception.

6. Contextual, Functional, and Geometric Components in the Semantics of 
Projective Terms (Carola Eschenbach).
This paper contains a thorough and systematic formal investigation of the 
lexical semantics of German projective terms, which denote directions and 
relations on the vertical and horizontal axes. Eschenbach starts from a 
shared geometric lexical entry and enriches this basic formalisation by 
further information on additional requirements and constraints for 
specific terms. For example, terms denoting the vertical axis are 
influenced by the functional element of gravity.

7. Verbs and Directions: The Interaction of Geometry and Function in 
Determining Orientation (Christopher Habel).
By investigating linguistic expressions denoting rotation and re-
orientation, the conceptual factors, functional properties, and 
fundamental issues associated with this type of spatial change become 
apparent. The fine-grained and elaborate analysis, which is also 
represented formally, convincingly demonstrates the underlying complexity 
of rotation events. For example, the role of spatial reference systems 
even in the absence of projective terms is highlighted.

8. Between Space and Function: How Spatial and Functional Features 
Determine the Comprehension of between (Emile van der Zee and Matt Watson).
Again, a detailed analysis of a specific spatial term serves to highlight 
underlying basic concepts. In this case, the focus is on the variety of 
features that influence the application and interpretation of "between": 
visual, linguistic, or general functional, and dynamic-kinematic features. 
Some of these aspects can be interpreted as belonging to the lexical 
semantics, while others are classified as contextual influences. The 
meaning of "between" is characterised in terms of ordered space and 
projection.

Part II. Function: Definitions and Influence

9. The HIPE Theory of Function (Lawrence Barsalou, Steven Sloman, and 
Sergio Chaigneau).
This theory is an account of people's knowledge about function, analysed 
as a complex relational structure. The four types of conceptual knowledge 
that are involved are History, Intentional perspective, Physical 
environment, and Event sequences (HIPE). The paper first discusses each of 
these in turn, and then addresses causal chains that combine different 
kinds of knowledge. A formal notation for representing the theory is 
offered, and a number of application issues are discussed.

10. Towards a Classification of Extra-geometric Influences on the 
Comprehension of Spatial Prepositions (Kenny Coventry and Simon Garrod).
A survey of previous empirical evidence with regard to a range of spatial 
expressions such as "in", "on", "between", and projective prepositions, 
leads to the proposal of a classification of extra-geometric constraints. 
Most basic is the differentiation between knowledge of object functions, 
and dynamic-kinematic aspects of scenes. Both parameters affect the 
application and comprehension of spatial terms in different ways.

11. Is it "in" or is it "on"? The Influence of Geometry and Location 
Control on Children's Descriptions of Containment and Support Events (Lynn 
Richards and Kenny Coventry).
With respect to adult language it has been established that the 
application of spatial terms is influenced by what objects are and how 
they interact (see e.g., Chapter 10). The present article discusses 
children's understanding of these influences. An empirical study 
(published in detail elsewhere) addressed their productions with respect 
to spatial scenes that involve containment and support, showing that 
children from an early age produce spatial descriptions under 
consideration of the functional features of the scene (here: location 
control).

12. Defining Functional Features for Spatial Language (Laura Carlson and 
Edwin Covell).
Although previous research has investigated the influence of object 
functions in a number of ways, up to now there is no systematic 
classification of the kinds of aspects that are crucial for such an 
influence. The present approach attacks the issue from two sides. On the 
one hand, possible factors were identified, classified in terms of 
surface, use, and functional features, and their effects isolated. For 
example, breakability and size of offset have a significant influence. On 
the other hand, the data were used to generate components that formed 
clusters of objects, independent of theoretical assumptions. Here, the 
ability to dispense, containment, precision of use, supporting, inserting, 
and specificity of use turned out to be crucial. Thus, the two approaches 
yield different levels of functional features; how these go together is 
largely left to future research.

13. Attention in Spatial Language: Bridging Geometry and Function (Terry 
Regier, Laura Carlson, and Bryce Corrigan).
Geometric and functional aspects influencing spatial language both share 
the element of attention. This idea is captured by the "Attentional Vector 
Sum" (computational) model, which is capable of accounting for and 
predicting empirical results in spatial scenes involving both geometric 
and functional influences. Thus, the authors show that "attention serves 
as a crucial mediating force in spatial language" (p. 192) because both 
geometry and function may affect the allocation of attention, albeit for 
different reasons.

14. Being Near the Ceramic, but not Near the Mug: On the Role of Construal 
in Spatial Language (Sandeep Prasada).
We construe objects in terms of their structure and function, and we can 
conceptualise entities in terms of stuff. Functional properties can be 
derived from our understanding of the object being the kind of thing it 
is. According to the author's reasoning, based on empirical results, 
construing the entity as object or as stuff interacts with the entity's 
structure, not its function. This has an influence on the usage of spatial 
prepositions such as "near". The aspects can be differentiated because an 
object's function is not in all cases directly correlated with its 
structure.

15. Force and Function in the Acquisition of the Preposition "in" (Claude 
Vandeloise).
This chapter examines the topological concept of inclusion as well as the 
functional relationship of containment, both of which are involved in the 
usage of "in". The notion of force is clarified, which is independent of 
motion - contrary to the usual opposition of static vs. dynamic, which 
seems to imply a correlation of force and motion. The author furthermore 
proposes a number of different aspects that together constitute the 
concept of containment. These are reflected in different ways in different 
languages. Furthermore, a range of previous findings on the acquisition of 
the concept are reviewed in order to highlight the relative importance of 
geometric and dynamic factors.

Part III. Features that are Functional: Categorization, Learning, and 
Language

16. Shape: A Developmental Product (Linda B. Smith).
Conceptualisations of shape are influenced by the actions that are 
performed upon objects. This idea, which touches upon the areas of 
category learning and object recognition, is addressed empirically by 
confronting children with novel objects and presenting actions along with 
them. It is shown that the perception of shape may be distorted by action. 
The function of objects seems to be crucial with respect to those features 
of shape that are attended to: essential shape features are increasingly 
recognised in an abstract way.

17. Adaptation of Perceptual and Semantic Features (Brian Rogosky and 
Robert Goldstone).
The flexible ways in which categories are learned cannot be accounted for 
by fixed feature based theories. Instead, features are learned dynamically 
and adaptively according to context and task constraints. This holds both 
for semantic and for perceptual features. The authors start by discussing 
this idea thoroughly based on previous literature and then move on to 
presenting their own empirical results.

18. Infants' Attention to and Use of Functional Properties in 
Categorization (Kelly Madole and Lisa Oakes).
The authors review research on the role of functional aspects in 
children's category acquisition, briefly presenting their own earlier 
empirical findings. Their focus is on actions upon objects and the 
expected (typical) reactions from the object. Apparently children start 
from perceptual features and increasingly take functional properties into 
account; later on, the relationship between the two is mediated by their 
background knowledge. Further research is needed to investigate other 
kinds of functional properties.

19. Developmental Constraints on the Representation of Spatial Relation 
Information: Evidence from Preverbal Infants (Paul C. Quinn).
The author reviews a number of earlier empirical findings of his 
laboratory that, taken together, indicate that infants younger than one 
year categorise the spatial relations "above", "below", and "between", 
with the latter emerging slightly later than the first two. For very young 
infants, object categorisation interferes with abstract spatial 
categories, which is discussed in terms of "what" versus "where" 
processing systems.

20. Path Expressions in Finnish and Swedish: The Role of Constructions 
(Urpo Nikanne).
Finnish and Swedish differ in the way they linguistically represent the 
conceptual issue of path. For example, a similar linguistic structure - 
coordinating conjunctions - is interpreted in fundamentally different ways 
in the two languages; in Swedish it expresses a path sequence, while in 
Finnish it conveys increasing detail of the spatial representation. The 
conceptual structure and linguistic constraints of the path-related 
constructions of each language are examined in detail and illustrated 
graphically.

Part IV. The Pervasiveness of Functional Features in Language and Space

21. Form and Function (Barbara Tversky).
With the insight that is typical for her, Tversky offers a wide 
perspective on findings, ideas, and empirical results that concern the 
relationship between form and function. Often, for instance, a typical 
form of an object (or, regularly, a specific part of an object) is 
associated with a certain function. Further, a causal relationship is 
associated. The author argues against a simple account of language and 
concepts by highlighting a broad range of issues that exemplify the 
complexity of relationships and issues involved. This broad, integrative 
view supports an understanding of how the colourful variety of issues that 
have been addressed throughout the book belong together, jointly 
contributing to our understanding of the processes at hand.

CRITICAL EVALUATION

The book is well edited and contains only a small number of typos or 
mistakes, the most curious of which is probably the appearance 
of "international" in Table 9.1 (page 133) instead of "intentional". The 
quality of all papers is consistently high, and the papers are definitely 
relevant to the topic and concern of the book (although in a few cases the 
relation to the notion of function seems to be less obvious than in 
others, e.g., Chapter 4 essentially deals with mental rotation, and 
Chapter 19 with object and spatial categorisation). Relevant previous 
research is generally well accounted for, so that the book provides a good 
insight into the present state of the art in the field. The purpose of the 
book - to enhance understanding of the role of functional features for the 
link between language and spatial representation - is successfully met by 
accumulating a broad number of findings from a great variety of 
perspectives. While some of the articles centrally deal with space, for 
example, by examining the use and comprehension of spatial prepositions, 
others are more concerned with general aspects of function and language.

Although the coherence of the book as a whole is convincing, it comes at 
the cost of the convenience of each single article. For example, all 
references are collected at the end of the book rather than along with the 
chapters. In addition, the purpose of the definition of central terms (at 
the beginning of each chapter) only reveals itself in relation to the book 
as a whole. It is, however, advantageous that footnotes are employed at 
the bottom of the pages rather than endnotes. Some of the papers could 
have benefited from more thorough cross-referencing given that many issues 
are shared and addressed from different viewpoints within the book. Other 
contributions, in contrast, intensively account for these cross-relations.

The book contains a high number of papers that contribute original 
research findings, for example, by presenting new empirical findings, by 
presenting formal representations and models, or by drawing together a 
range of earlier results to discuss a specific idea. In Chapter 17, even a 
new methodology for investigating conceptual features is introduced; 
however, one wonders why so much space is taken up by theoretical 
considerations and so little is devoted to the introduction of the method 
itself and its appropriateness for the issue at hand (which itself is well 
motivated). In other cases, previous (own) research is summarised or 
presented from a new perspective. These contributions enhance the 
completeness of the book in terms of coverage and range of perspectives on 
the topic at hand.

There are only a very few potentially problematic issues that might be 
pointed out, although these in no way diminish the overall value of the 
book. Chapter 3 reviews the findings of two earlier studies which are not 
interrelated in any obvious way. To my mind, the studies are fundamentally 
different because the first study deals with an essentially non-relational 
task (pointing is not relational; the verbal direction relates the Figure 
to the speaker as Ground, prescribed by the task) while the second study 
addresses the question how speakers spontaneously select Figures and 
Grounds when establishing spatial relations. A different case which I find 
slightly problematic is Chapter 5, albeit for a different reason: this 
contribution is too sketchy in several respects; it is often unclear how 
the author motivates the global and far-reaching conclusions which are 
modelled in a computational framework. It would have been better if the 
author had motivated his approach not in terms of contrast with previous 
literature but rather in terms of previously established findings, which 
are also mentioned but not sufficiently accounted for in the paper. 
Finally, in Chapter 15 the oppositions of dynamic, static, and kinetic are 
presented confusingly; the abstract suggests that these are three 
different concepts, while Fig. 15.1 conveys that dynamic is superordinate 
to the other two.

Generally, the book will certainly serve as a valuable source for insights 
with respect to issues around structure and function, language, and space, 
for all researchers working in the field of spatial cognition and beyond. 
In fact, this is already true; already the book (or single contributions 
of it) is cited and referred to frequently in related work. 

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Thora Tenbrink is a research assistant in the DFG Collaborative Research 
Center SFB/TR8 "Spatial Cognition: Reasoning, Action, Interaction" (Bremen 
& Freiburg, Germany). Her recently completed dissertation deals with the 
question as to how objects and events are localised relative to other 
objects and events using spatial and temporal expressions in natural 
discourse. Previous work has dealt with discourse relations, 
presuppositions, and non-temporal implications of temporal connectives, 
and with the systematic analysis of the application of spatial projective 
terms. Her current and future focus is on empirical research on the 
employment of spatial reference systems in dialogue, specifically in human-
robot interaction.





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