Variability of Spatial Frames of Reference in Wayfinding Discourse on Commercial Signboards  

Oleh:

Kataoka, Kuniyoshi

Jenis: Article from Journal - ilmiah internasional
Dalam koleksi: Language in Society (ada di PROQUEST) vol. 34 no. 4 (Sep. 2005), page 593-632.
Fulltext: 4169448.pdf (4.15MB)

Isi artikel

This study focuses on the everyday use of spatial frames of reference (FoR) and seeks to elucidate the underlying principles for guiding viewers from a signboard to a destination. Using Levinson's tripartite typology of FoR – absolute, relative, and intrinsic – and a VARBRUL analysis, it is shown that each FoR is differentially preferred depending on distinct geographic features of the route and the environment. Specifically, as geographic scale and route complexity increase, there emerges a general tendency away from intrinsic descriptions, through relative descriptions, to absolute descriptions, despite the general low usage of the absolute FoR in modern Japanese. It is argued that the asymmetries in the shift and maintenance of FoRs could be largely, if not wholly, accounted for by using such strategies as “single-perspective” and “absolute-reliance” and properties of “untranslatability.”

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