Factors Affecting Spatial Deictic Communication: A Comparison of German and American English
نویسندگان
چکیده
The spatial prepositions ”in front of” or ”behind” can be used in different frames of reference; some determinants of their deictic and intrinsic uses are discussed. A series of experiments shows that both the intrinsic orientation of the reference object and the social characteristics of the situation significantly affect the production of utterances containing ”in front of” or ”behind”, or respectively, the German prepositions ”vor” or ”hinter”. These two factors interact differently in English and in German. In particular situations, the communicative correspondence between the reference to an intended space (production) and the interpretation of such an utterance (comprehension) is stronger in English than in German. The results are discussed in terms of the different prepositional inventories of the two languages.
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