The semantics of functional spaces
In this chapter I examine the ways in which languages encode the distinction between location and place, generally, and between objects and their uses in space, in particular. I develop a type-theoretic semantic formalism to model the notion of ‘function’, whether associated with a region or location on the one hand, or a class of objects, such as artifactual devices, on the other hand. The functional value of an object is encoded as a modal expression in the Telic role of the Qualia Structure associated with a lexical item. Finally, I illustrate how this representation helps explain the linguistic behaviour of such expressions in language. Keywords: Generative Lexicon; preposition; qualia; space; type-theoretic semantics