Laura Carlson & Patrick Hill:
Formulating spatial descriptions across
various dialogue contexts
Abstract
The formulation of spatial descriptions of targets often
involves the selection of a reference object and a spatial term that defines
the relation between the target and reference object. In a series of studies
in various dialogue contexts, we examined how speakers select these components,
asking whether they formulate their descriptions based upon a salient reference
object, upon a simply expressed spatial relation, or upon joint consideration
of object/term pairs. Across contexts, speakers consistently produced descriptions
in which the spatial relation was simply expressed. When there was no simple
relation, descriptions were based on perceptually salient reference objects.
These findings support the joint consideration of object/term pairs, with
priority given to the spatial relation between target and reference object.
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