Spatial communication systems across languages reflect universal action constraints
Nature Human Behaviour, vol. 7, pp. 2099–2110
Abstract
The extent to which languages share properties reflecting the non-linguistic constraints of the speakers who speak them is key to the debate regarding the relationship between language and cognition. A critical case is spatial communication, where it has been argued that semantic universals should exist, if anywhere. Here, using an experimental paradigm able to separate variation within a language from variation between languages, we tested the use of spatial demonstratives-the most fundamental and frequent spatial terms across languages. In n = 874 speakers across 29 languages, we show that speakers of all tested languages use spatial demonstratives as a function of being able to reach or act on an object being referred to. In some languages, the position of the addressee is also relevant in selecting between demonstrative forms. Commonalities and differences across languages in spatial communication can be understood in terms of universal constraints on action shaping spatial language and cognition.
Authors 38
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Kenny R. Coventry corresponding
Affiliation as printed
School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. k.coventry@uea.ac.uk
School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
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University of East Anglia · Utrecht University · Institute for Advanced Study
Affiliation as printed
Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg, Delmenhorst, Germany
Helmholtz Institute, Department of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
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Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Affiliation as printed
Department of English, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Jena, Germany
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Affiliation as printed
School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
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Universitat de les Illes Balears
Affiliation as printed
Department of Spanish, Modern and Classic Philology, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma, Spain
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Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Affiliation as printed
Language Acquisition and Language Processing Lab, Department of Language and Literature, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
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Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Affiliation as printed
Language Acquisition and Language Processing Lab, Department of Language and Literature, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
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Universitat de les Illes Balears · Universidad de Sevilla
Affiliation as printed
Department of Spanish Language, Linguistics and Literature Theory, University of Seville, Seville, Spain
Department of Spanish, Modern and Classic Philology, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma, Spain
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Affiliation as printed
Institute of Estonian and General Linguistics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
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Affiliation as printed
Centre for the Arts in Society, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
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Võro Institute · University of Tartu
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Estonian and General Linguistics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
Võro Institute, Võru, Estonia
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University at Buffalo, State University of New York
Affiliation as printed
Department of Linguistics, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
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Italian Institute of Technology
Affiliation as printed
Danieli Telerobot Srl, Genoa, Italy
Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genoa, Italy
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Affiliation as printed
School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
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Affiliation as printed
Paisii Hilendarski University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
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Affiliation as printed
Department of English, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA
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Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Affiliation as printed
Department of Slavonic Languages and Caucasus Studies, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Jena, Germany
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Affiliation as printed
Cognitive Science, Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
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Tribhuvan University · University of Hyderabad
Affiliation as printed
Centre for Neural and Cognitive Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India
Cognitive Science and Psycholinguistics Lab, Central Department of Linguistics, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal
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Tilburg University · Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
Affiliation as printed
Department of Communication and Cognition, TiCC, Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands
Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
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Affiliation as printed
Laboratory for Perceptual and Cognitive Systems, Faculty of Computing, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia
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Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Affiliation as printed
Department of German, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Jena, Germany
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Affiliation as printed
School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
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Affiliation as printed
Centre for Neural and Cognitive Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India
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School of Communication and Culture, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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School of Languages and Translation Studies, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
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Institute of Estonian and General Linguistics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
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Affiliation as printed
School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
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Universidad Nebrija · UiT The Arctic University of Norway
Affiliation as printed
Centro de Investigación Nebrija en Cognición, Universidad Antonio de Nebrija, Madrid, Spain
Department of Languages and Culture, Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
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Affiliation as printed
Centre for Neural and Cognitive Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India
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Affiliation as printed
Centre for Humanities Computing, Department of Culture, Cognition and Computation, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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Affiliation as printed
Laboratory for Perceptual and Cognitive Systems, Faculty of Computing, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia
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Aarhus University · Aarhus University Hospital
Affiliation as printed
Centre of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
School of Communication and Culture, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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Affiliation as printed
Institute for the Languages and Cultures of the Baltic, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Computer Engineering, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey
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