Department of Linguistics and Asian/Middle Eastern Languages, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182-7727, USA.
Cogn Sci. 2012 Jan-Feb;36(1):102-29. doi: 10.1111/j.1551-6709.2011.01201.x. Epub 2011 Oct 4.
This study investigated the relative contribution of perception/cognition and language-specific semantics in nonverbal categorization of spatial relations. English and Korean speakers completed a video-based similarity judgment task involving containment, support, tight fit, and loose fit. Both perception/cognition and language served as resources for categorization, and allocation between the two depended on the target relation and the features contrasted in the choices. Whereas perceptual/cognitive salience for containment and tight-fit features guided categorization in many contexts, language-specific semantics influenced categorization where the two features competed for similarity judgment and when the target relation was tight support, a domain where spatial relations are perceptually diverse. In the latter contexts, each group categorized more in line with semantics of their language, that is, containment/support for English and tight/loose fit for Korean. We conclude that language guides spatial categorization when perception/cognition alone is not sufficient. In this way, language is an integral part of our cognitive domain of space.
本研究调查了知觉/认知和语言特定语义在非言语空间关系分类中的相对贡献。英语和韩语使用者完成了一项基于视频的相似性判断任务，涉及包含、支撑、紧密贴合和宽松贴合。知觉/认知和语言都是分类的资源，两者的分配取决于目标关系和选择中对比的特征。虽然在许多情况下，包含和紧密贴合特征的知觉/认知显著性指导了分类，但当两个特征在相似性判断中竞争，并且目标关系是紧密支撑时，语言特定语义会影响分类，而在这个领域中，空间关系是多样化的。在后一种情况下，每个群体的分类更符合其语言的语义，即英语中的包含/支撑和韩语中的紧密/宽松贴合。我们的结论是，当仅靠知觉/认知不足以进行分类时，语言会指导空间分类。这样，语言就成为我们空间认知领域的一个组成部分。
