Abstract
The present paper deals with the semantics of locative expressions. Our approach is essentially model-theoretic, using basic geometrical properties of the space-time continuum. We shall demonstrate that locatives consist of two layers: the first layer defines a location and the second a type of movement with respect to that location. The elements defining these layers, called localisersand modalisers, tend to form a unit, which is typically either an adposition or a case marker. It will be seen that this layering is not only semantically but in many languages also morphologically manifest. There are numerous languages in which the morphology is sufficiently transparent with respect to the layering. The consequences of this theory are manifold. For example, we shall show that it explains the contrast between English and Finnish concerning directionals, which is discussed in Fong (1997). In addition, we shall be concerned with the question of orientation of locatives, as discussed in Nam (1995). We propose that nondirectional locatives are oriented to the event, while directional locatives are oriented to certain arguments, called movers.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Alleton, V.: 1979, Grammaire du Chinois, Number 1519 in Que Sais-Je? 2edn, Presses Universitaires de France, Paris.
Anderson, J. M.: 1971, The Grammar of Case: Towards a Localistic Theory, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Baker, M.: 1992, 'Unmatched Chains and the Representation of Plural Pronouns', Journal of Semantics 1, 33–74.
Bierwisch, M.: 1988, 'On the Grammar of Local Prepositions', in Manfred Bierwisch, Wolfgang Motsch, and Ilse Zimmermann (eds.), Syntax, Semantik und Lexikon, Studia Grammatica XXIX, Akademie Verlag, pp. 1-65.
Bierwisch, M.: 1996, 'How Much Space Gets into Language?', in Paul Bloom, Mary A. Peterson, Lynn Nadel, and Merrill F. Garrett (eds.), Language and Space, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp. 31–76.
Blake, B. J.: 1994, Case, Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics, Cambridge University Press.
Bloom, P., Peterson, M. A., Nadel, L., Garrett, M. F.: 1996, Language and Space, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Bouchard, D.: 1995, The Semantics of Syntax. A Minimalist Approach to Grammar, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Comrie, B., Polinsky, M., and Rajabov, R.: 1999, in Alice Harris and Riek Smeets (eds.), The Languages of the Caucasus, Curzon, London.
Cook, W. A. S. J.: 1989, Case Grammar Theory, Georgetown University Press, Washington, D.C.
Creary, L. J., Gawron, M., and Nerbonne, J.: 1987, 'Towards a Theory of Locative Reference', in Proceedings of the ASL 1987.
Creary, L. J., Gawron, M., and Nerbonne, J.: 1989, 'Reference to Locations', in Proceedings of the ACL 1989.
CsÚcs, S.: 1990, Chrestomathia Votiacica, Tankönyvkiadó, Budapest.
Dench, A.: 1995, Martuthunira. A Language of the Pilbara Region of Western Australia, C-125. Pacific Linguistics.
Dench, A.: 1997, 'Where Do Complex Kinterms Come From?', in Darrell Tryon and Michael Walsh (eds.), Boundary Rider: Essays in Honour of Geoffrey O'Grady, C-136, Pacific Linguistics, pp. 107-132.
Fong, V.: 1997, The Order of Things: What Directional Locatives Denote, PhD thesis, Stanford University.
Givón, T.: 1990, Syntax. A Functional-Typological Introduction, Vol. II. John Benjamins, Amsterdam.
Gruber, J. S.: 1965, Studies in Lexical Relations, PhD thesis, MIT.
HajdÚ, P. and Domokos, P.: 1987, Die Uralischen Sprachen und Literaturen, Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest.
Herskovits, A.: 1985, Space and Prepositions in English: Regularities and Irregularities, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Hjelmslev, L.: 1935, La Catégorie des Cas: Étude de Grammaire Générale I, Munksgaard, Kopenhagen, Acta Jutlandica: Aarsskrift for Aarhus Universitet 7.1.
Hjelmslev, L.: 1937, La Catégorie des Cas: Étude de Grammaire Générale II, Munksgaard, Kopenhagen, Acta Jutlandica: Aarsskrift for Aarhus Universitet 9.3.
Jackendoff, R.: 1983, Semantics and Cognition, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Jackendoff, R.: 1990, Semantic Structures, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Jackendoff, R.: 1996, 'The Architecture of the Linguistic-Spatial Interface', in Paul Bloom, Mary A. Peterson, Lynn Nadel, and Merrill F. Garrett (eds.), Language and Space, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp. 1–30.
Karlsson, F.: 1984, Finnische Grammatik, Helmut Buske Verlag, Hamburg.
Keenan, E. and Faltz, L.: 1985, Boolean Semantics for Natural Language, Reidel, Dordrecht.
Klimov, G. A.: 1994, Einführung in die kaukasische Sprachwissenschaft, Helmut Buske Verlag, Hamburg.
Kracht, M.: 1999, 'Agreement Morphology, Argument Structure and Syntax', unpublished Manuscript.
Kracht, M.: 2001a, 'Against the Feature Bundle Theory of Case', in Eleonore Brandner and Heike Zinsmeister (eds.), New Perspectives on Case, CSLI.
Kracht, M.: 2001b, 'The Structure of Local Cases and Its Relevance for the Study of Uralic Languages', in Proceedings of the IX. Congress of Fenno-Ugrists, Tartu.
Landmann, F.: 1989a, 'Groups I', Linguistics and Philosophy 12, 559–606.
Landmann, F.: 1989b, 'Groups II', Linguistics and Philosophy 12, 723–744.
Levelt, W. J. M.: 1996, 'Perspective Taking and Ellipsis in Spatial Language', in Paul Bloom, Mary A. Peterson, Lynn Nadel, and Merrill F. Garrett (eds.), Language and Space, MIT Press, Cambridge MA, pp. 77–107.
Levin, B.: 1993, English Verb Classes and Alternations, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Levinson, S.: 1995, 'Frames of Reference and Molyneux's Questions: Crosslinguistic Evidence', in Paul Bloom, Mary A. Peterson, Lynn Nadel, and Merrill F. Garrett (eds.), Language and Space, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp. 109–169.
Löbner, S.: 1990, Wahr neben Falsch, Number 244 in Linguistische Arbeiten, Max Niemeyer Verlag.
Mandler, J. M.: 1996, 'Preverbal Representation and Language', in Paul Bloom, Mary A. Peterson, Lynn Nadel, and Merrill F. Garrett (eds.), Language and Space, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp. 365–384.
Mel'?uk, I.: 1986, 'Toward a Definition of Case', in R. D. Brecht and J. S. Levine (eds.), Case in Slavic, Slavica, Columbus, OH, pp. 35–85.
Mel'?uk, I.: 1994, Cours de Morphologie Générale, 2ème Partie: Significations Morphologiques, Les Presses Universitaires de Montréal, Montréal.
Merin, A.: 1996, 'Formal Semantic Theory and Diachronic Data: A Case Study in Grammaticalization', Technical Report 75, SFB 340, University of Stuttgart.
Nam, S.: 1995, Semantics of Locative Prepositional Phrases in English, PhD thesis, UCLA.
O'Keefe, J.: 1996, 'The Spatial Prepositions in English, Vector Grammar, and the Cognitive Map Theory', in Paul Bloom, Mary A. Peterson, Lynn Nadel, and Merrill F. Garrett (eds.), Language and Space, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp. 277–316.
Parsons, T.: 1994, Events in the Semantics of English. A Study in Subatomic Semantics, Number 19 in Current Studies in Linguistics, MIT Press.
Peterson, M. A., Nadel, L., Bloom, P., and Garrett, M. F.: 1996, Space and Language, in Paul Bloom, Mary A. Peterson, Lynn Nadel, and Merrill F. Garrett (eds.), Language and Space, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Sammallahti, P.: 1998, The Saami Languages. An Introduction, Davvi Girji, Kárášjohka.
Sells, P.: 1987, 'Aspects of Logophoricity', Linguistic Inquiry 18, 445–479.
Talmy, L. P 1983, 'How Language Structures Space', in Pick H. and L. Acredolo (eds.), Spatial Orientation: Theory, Research, and Application, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 225–282.
Talmy, L.: 1996, 'Fictive Motion in Language and “Ception”', in Paul Bloom, Mary A. Peterson, Lynn Nadel, and Merrill F. Garrett (eds.), Language and Space, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp. 211–276.
van Riemsdijk, H.: 1978, A Case Study in Syntactic Markedness, Peter de Ridder Press, Lisse.
Vogel, R.: 1998, Polyvalent Verbs, PhD thesis, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
Wunderlich, D. and Herweg, M.: 1986, 'Lokale und Direktionale', in D. Wunderlich and A. von Stechow (eds.), Handbuch der Semantik, Walter de Gruyter.
Zwarts, J. and Winter, Y.: 2000, 'Vector Space Semantics: A Model-Theoretic Analysis of Locative Prepositions', Journal of Logic, Language and Information 9, 169–211.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kracht, M. On the Semantics of Locatives. Linguistics and Philosophy 25, 157–232 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014646826099
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014646826099