4.1 Figure and ground, trajector and landmark: early research into prepositions When we look at an object in our environment, we single it out as a perceptually prominent figure standing out from the ground. The same principle of prominence is valid in the structure of language. For example, in locative relations like in The book …

3.1 Metaphors and metonymies: from figures of speech to conceptual systems Traditionally, metaphors and metonymies have been regarded as figures of speech, i.e. as more or less ornamental devices used in rhetorical style. However, expressions like the foot of the mountain or talks between Washington and Moscow indicate that the two phenomena also play an …

1.1   Colours, squares, birds and cups: early empirical research into lexical categories The world consists of an infinite variety of objects with different substances, shapes and colours. How do we translate this variety into manageable word meanings and why do we succeed even where no clear-cut distinctions seem to be available, such as between the …