Elaborating time in space: the structure and function of space–motion metaphors of time

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
KEVIN EZRA MOORE

abstractThis paper studies the principles according to which spatial and motion concepts metaphorically structure temporal concepts in some languages. There are two types of space–motion metaphor of time, distinguished by whether or not the metaphor is structured by a person’s perspective. “Christmas is approaching” and “We are approaching Christmas” are perspectival. “New Year’s follows Christmas” is not. This contrast in deixis and frame of reference is linguistically relevant whether the contrast has to do with imagination or external reality. Study of experiential motivations and analysis into primary metaphors helps reveal the particular ways spatial and motion concepts function in each type of metaphor. One focus is accounting for the contrasting temporal meanings that words for in-front and behind can have. For example, “Ahead of us” is later than Now, while “ahead of Christmas” is earlier than Christmas. We find that the temporal ‘directions’ expressed in the contrasting frames of reference are not opposites. Rather, they are motivated by different kinds of temporal experience. This project investigates the fundamental spatial relations that structure temporal concepts; for example co-location vs. separation. But since motion involves time, purely spatial structure is limited. Conceptual blending analysis reveals that the source and target frames of the perspectival metaphors share an aspectual – i.e., temporal – generic structure. Thus a dichotomy between ‘space’ and ‘time’ is of limited utility in describing space–motion metaphors of time. Instead, the analysis has to deal with the specific spatial and temporal concepts that function in each metaphor.

Author(s):  
Myrto Grigoroglou ◽  
Anna Papafragou

Across the world’s languages, spatial terms are organized around a set of basic, non-linguistic spatial notions. Nevertheless, there is also considerable cross-linguistic variation in terms of both the kinds of linguistic devices used to express spatial relations and the way these devices carve up the semantic domain of space. This chapter reviews literature on spatial terms cross-linguistically, focusing on three main sub-divisions of the spatial domain: location (i.e. the static position of an object in space); motion (i.e. the dynamic displacement of an object in space); and Frames of Reference (FoR; i.e. abstract spatial-coordinate axes imposed on spatial configurations). The intricate relation between spatial language and non-linguistic spatial cognition is discussed throughout the chapter.


2019 ◽  
Vol 72 (10) ◽  
pp. 2393-2407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Wilke ◽  
Andrea Bender ◽  
Sieghard Beller

The relative frame of reference (FoR) is used to describe spatial relations between two objects from an observer’s perspective. Standard, frontal referencing situations with objects located in the observer’s visual field afford three well-established variants: translation, reflection, and rotation. Here, we focus on references in non-standard situations with objects located at the back or at the side of an observer ( dorsal and lateral, respectively). We scrutinise the consistency assumption, which was introduced to infer the covert strategy used in dorsal tasks from an ambiguous overt response: that, when confronted with a non-standard situation, people adopt a strategy consistent with how they construct the relative FoR in frontal situations. Lateral tasks enable us to disentangle the ambiguous response. The results of a study in Norway and Germany support the consistency assumption in part: Nearly all participants with a preference for translation in frontal tasks applied translation in lateral tasks, and some participants with a preference for reflection in frontal tasks turned towards the objects before applying reflection in lateral tasks. Most other participants with a preference for reflection in frontal tasks, however, switched to translation in lateral tasks. The latter may be due to a specific affordance of the lateral arrangements, which invite translation as the easier strategy compared to the alternative derived from reflection. Our findings indicate that people do not apply their preferred variant of the relative FoR to all kinds of situations, but rather flexibly adapt their strategy when it is more convenient to do so.


2004 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 261-283
Author(s):  
Kazuko Shinohara ◽  
Yoshihiro Matsunaka

This paper analyzes frames of reference involved in linguistic expression of spatial relations of objects, using an experimental method. Objects with and without intrinsic orientation are used as the figure object, and it is demonstrated that there exists in Japanese a phenomenon we call ‘figure-aligned mapping’, where the coordinate system on the figure object is projected onto the ground object. This is what previous studies have not reported or argued. We claim that this figure-aligned mapping belongs to the intrinsic frame of reference among the three (intrinsic, relative, and absolute) frames of reference proposed by Levinson, and some revision of his definition of the intrinsic frame is proposed so that figure-aligned mapping can be accommodated in it. The result of this study confirms the importance of the notion of coordinate system in the discussion of frames of reference.


Author(s):  
Peter Sterling

The synaptic connections in cat retina that link photoreceptors to ganglion cells have been analyzed quantitatively. Our approach has been to prepare serial, ultrathin sections and photograph en montage at low magnification (˜2000X) in the electron microscope. Six series, 100-300 sections long, have been prepared over the last decade. They derive from different cats but always from the same region of retina, about one degree from the center of the visual axis. The material has been analyzed by reconstructing adjacent neurons in each array and then identifying systematically the synaptic connections between arrays. Most reconstructions were done manually by tracing the outlines of processes in successive sections onto acetate sheets aligned on a cartoonist's jig. The tracings were then digitized, stacked by computer, and printed with the hidden lines removed. The results have provided rather than the usual one-dimensional account of pathways, a three-dimensional account of circuits. From this has emerged insight into the functional architecture.


Author(s):  
K.E. Krizan ◽  
J.E. Laffoon ◽  
M.J. Buckley

With increase use of tissue-integrated prostheses in recent years it is a goal to understand what is happening at the interface between haversion bone and bulk metal. This study uses electron microscopy (EM) techniques to establish parameters for osseointegration (structure and function between bone and nonload-carrying implants) in an animal model. In the past the interface has been evaluated extensively with light microscopy methods. Today researchers are using the EM for ultrastructural studies of the bone tissue and implant responses to an in vivo environment. Under general anesthesia nine adult mongrel dogs received three Brånemark (Nobelpharma) 3.75 × 7 mm titanium implants surgical placed in their left zygomatic arch. After a one year healing period the animals were injected with a routine bone marker (oxytetracycline), euthanized and perfused via aortic cannulation with 3% glutaraldehyde in 0.1M cacodylate buffer pH 7.2. Implants were retrieved en bloc, harvest radiographs made (Fig. 1), and routinely embedded in plastic. Tissue and implants were cut into 300 micron thick wafers, longitudinally to the implant with an Isomet saw and diamond wafering blade [Beuhler] until the center of the implant was reached.


Author(s):  
Robert L. Ochs

By conventional electron microscopy, the formed elements of the nuclear interior include the nucleolus, chromatin, interchromatin granules, perichromatin granules, perichromatin fibrils, and various types of nuclear bodies (Figs. 1a-c). Of these structures, all have been reasonably well characterized structurally and functionally except for nuclear bodies. The most common types of nuclear bodies are simple nuclear bodies and coiled bodies (Figs. 1a,c). Since nuclear bodies are small in size (0.2-1.0 μm in diameter) and infrequent in number, they are often overlooked or simply not observed in any random thin section. The rat liver hepatocyte in Fig. 1b is a case in point. Historically, nuclear bodies are more prominent in hyperactive cells, they often occur in proximity to nucleoli (Fig. 1c), and sometimes they are observed to “bud off” from the nucleolar surface.


Author(s):  
M. Boublik ◽  
W. Hellmann ◽  
F. Jenkins

Correlations between structure and function of biological macromolecules have been studied intensively for many years, mostly by indirect methods. High resolution electron microscopy is a unique tool which can provide such information directly by comparing the conformation of biopolymers in their biologically active and inactive state. We have correlated the structure and function of ribosomes, ribonucleoprotein particles which are the site of protein biosynthesis. 70S E. coli ribosomes, used in this experiment, are composed of two subunits - large (50S) and small (30S). The large subunit consists of 34 proteins and two different ribonucleic acid molecules. The small subunit contains 21 proteins and one RNA molecule. All proteins (with the exception of L7 and L12) are present in one copy per ribosome.This study deals with the changes in the fine structure of E. coli ribosomes depleted of proteins L7 and L12. These proteins are unique in many aspects.


2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 112-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Erickson-Levendoski ◽  
Mahalakshmi Sivasankar

The epithelium plays a critical role in the maintenance of laryngeal health. This is evident in that laryngeal disease may result when the integrity of the epithelium is compromised by insults such as laryngopharyngeal reflux. In this article, we will review the structure and function of the laryngeal epithelium and summarize the impact of laryngopharyngeal reflux on the epithelium. Research investigating the ramifications of reflux on the epithelium has improved our understanding of laryngeal disease associated with laryngopharyngeal reflux. It further highlights the need for continued research on the laryngeal epithelium in health and disease.


1973 ◽  
Vol 44 (1-21012) ◽  
pp. 1-1 ◽  
Author(s):  
B BACCETTI ◽  
A BURRINI ◽  
R DALLAI ◽  
V PALLINI ◽  
P PERITI ◽  
...  

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