On the Spatial Uses of Prepositions

This paper shows the f a l l acy of th is claim. It addresses the problem of i n te rp re t ing and generating " l o c a t i v e p red i ca t i ons " (expressions made up of two noun-phrases gove rned by a preposi t ion used spa t i a l l y ) . It i d e n t i f i e s and describes a number of o b j e c t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s beyond shape (sect ion I) and contextual f a c t o r s (sec t ion 2) which bear on these processes. Drawing on these descr ip t ions , the th i rd sect ion proposes core meanings for two categories of p r e p o s i t i o n s , and descr ibes some of the t r a n s f o r ~ t t o n s these core meanings are subject to in context. The l as t s e c t i o n o u t l i n e s the main d i rec t ions of Inquiry suggested by the examples and observations in the paper.