《262-bender-Introduction》.pdfVIP

Spatial Frames of Reference for Temporal Relations: A Conceptual Analysis in English, German, and Tongan Andrea Bender (bender@psychologie.uni-freiburg.de) Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg D-79085 Freiburg, Germany Giovanni Bennardo (bennardo@niu.edu) Department of Anthropology and Cognitive Studies Initiative, Northern Illinois University DeKalb 60115, Illinois, USA Sieghard Beller (beller@psychologie.uni-freiburg.de) Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg D-79085 Freiburg, Germany Abstract languages as closely related as German and English. This variation points towards a complex relationship between the People tend to think about time in terms of space, in some lan- two domains of time and space at the conceptual level. guages even with identical vocabulary. It is therefore plausible Such a conceptual link between time and space is not only to assume that the frame of reference (FOR) preferred for spa- explicated in science but also in folk theories of various tial descriptions also helps to organize temporal descriptions. Further still: If languages differ with regard to the FORs that indigenous cultures (Ascher, 1998). In Navajo and Inuit con- they prefer in the one domain—as is inde