Spatial networks as a site for the study of Language and Thought

Abstract

A technique has been developed for observing the translation of cognitive input into language in a spontaneous, practiced speech event: descriptions of the lay-outs of apartments. The great majority of such lay-outs are imaginary tours which transform spatial lay outs into temporally organized narratives. The set of discourse rules which govern these speech events is given, and the rules which determine a number of features of sentence grammar are- outlined. This study represents an initial description of the links between cognitive input, discourse rules, and the rules of sentence grammar.