Study title

Communication involves a combination of speech and gestures which afford joint attention between speaker and hearer. In this grant the mapping between language and the vision and action systems is targeted by examining how people use spatial and temporal demonstratives (eg 'this cup', 'that spoon') to describe where objects are placed and when they were placed. Using the 'memory game' method (Coventry, Vald's, Castillo and Guijarro-Fuentes, 2008), a series of experiments will investigate whether the basic perceptual distinction between near space (space within graspable distance) and far space (space out of graspable reach) underpins spatial demonstrative use in English, and if memory for object location is also affected by this basic perceptual contrast. Further experiments will establish whether variables that are important for demonstrative systems in other languages (such as whether an object is visible to the speaker, owned by the speaker, etc) also affect demonstrative choice in English, and if these in turn map onto basic perceptual distinctions. Finally virtual reality technology will be used to examine the nature of the mapping between spatial and temporal uses of demonstratives. Overall this project will help elucidate the mapping between three main cognitive systems: