Article published In:
Studies in LanguageVol. 32:1 (2008) ► pp.93–136
Orientation as a strategy of spatial reference
This paper explores a strategy of spatial expression which utilizes orientation, a way of describing the spatial relationship of entities by means of reference to their facets. We present detailed data and analysis from two languages, Jahai (Mon-Khmer, Malay Peninsula) and Lavukaleve (Papuan isolate, Solomon Islands), and supporting data from five more languages, to show that the orientation strategy is a major organizing principle in these languages. This strategy has not previously been recognized in the literature as a unitary phenomenon, and the languages which employ it present particular challenges to existing typologies of spatial frames of reference.
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