In this collection, a team of leading linguists and psychologists look at how the spatial domain is structured in language. Drawing on data from a wide range of languages, they uncover considerable cross-linguistic variation across this central domain, adding to debates about the innate foundations of human cognition. List of figures ix List of tables xi List of contributors xiv Preface xv The background to the study of the language of space 1(23) Stephen C. Levinson David P. Wilkins Spatial language and cognition 1(1) Nature of this book 2(4) The language sample 6(2) Controlled comparison: the stimuli 8(7) Patterns of variation 15(7) Conclusion 22(2) Towards an Arrernte grammar of space 24(39) David P. Wilkins The language and its speakers 24(1) Brief overview of the main features of Arrernte grammar 25(4) Topological relations 29(10) Motion 39(13) Frames of reference 52(8) Conclusion 60(3) Sketch of a Jaminjung grammar of space 63(52) Eva Schultze-Berndt Introduction 63(1) The language and its speakers 63(1) Grammatical and lexical resources for spatial description 64(8) Topological relations 72(11) Motion 83(20) Frames of reference 103(9) Summary 112(3) Prolegomenon to a Warrwa grammar of space 115(42) William B. McGregor The Warrwa language and its speakers 115(2) Overview of Warrwa grammar 117(6) Topological relations 123(12) Motion 135(13) Frames of reference 148(6) Conclusion 154(3) The language of space in Yeli Dnye 157(49) Stephen C. Levinson The language and culture of Rossel Island 157(1) Some salient features of the grammar 158(6) Topological relations 164(19) Frames of reference 183(8) Deixis 191(1) Motion description 192(12) Conclusions 204(2) Prolegomena to a Kilivila grammar of space 206(24) Gunter Senft Introduction 206(1) Kilivila -- the language of the Trobriand Islanders 207(2) Topological relations 209(8) Motion 217(5) Frames of reference 222(6) Summary and concluding remarks 228(2) A sketch of the grammar of space in Tzeltal 230(43) Penelope Brown Introduction 230(3) Grammatical resources for spatial description 233(7) Static location 240(11) Motion 251(12) Frames of references 263(8) Conclusion 271(2) Spatial reference in Yukatek Maya: a survey 273(38) Jurgen Bohnemeyer Christel Stolz Introduction 273(1) The language and its speakers 274(2) Some elements of YM morphosyntax 276(13) Topological relations 289(4) Motion 293(9) Frames of reference 302(7) Concluding remarks 309(2) Approaching space in Tiriyo grammar 311(48) Sergio Meira Introduction: Tiriyo and its speakers 311(1) A brief overview of Tiriyo grammar 312(3) Topology 315(24) Motion 339(11) Frames of reference 350(8) Conclusion 358(1) Elements of the grammar of space in Ewe 359(41) Felix K. Ameka James Essegbey The language and its relevance for spatial language research 359(1) Grammatical overview 360(10) Topological relations 370(12) Frames of reference 382(5) Motion 387(11) Conclusion 398(2) Spatial language in Tamil 400(37) Eric Pederson Tamil and Tamils 400(1) Grammatical sketch 401(3) Topological relations 404(11) Motion events 415(10) Deixis and frames of reference 425(9) Conclusions 434(3) A grammar of space in Japanese 437(38) Sotaro Kita Introduction 437(1) Very brief grammatical overview of the language 437(1) Location 438(11) Motion 449(21) Contextual factors for the choice of frames of reference 470(3) Conclusions 473(2) Some properties of spatial description in Dutch 475(37) Miriam Van Staden Melissa Bowerman Mariet Verhelst Introduction 475(1) Dutch: The language and its speakers 475(2) Grammatical background to spatial descriptions in Dutch 477(8) Topological relations 485(15) Motion descriptions 500(6) Conclusion 506(4) Discussion 510(2) Patterns in the data: towards a semantic typology of spatial description 512(41) Stephen C. Levinson David P. Wilkins Universals and particulars: variation and its limits in semantic typology 512(2) Topology 514(13) Motion 527(14) Frames of reference 541(9) Conclusions 550(3) Appendices 553(23) References 576(24) Author index 600(4) Language/Language family index 604(3) Subject index 607