Multiple influences on the use of english spatial prepositions: The case of "in" and "on"

What do people know when they know a word? Previous accounts of the semantics of spatial locatives suggest that spatial meaning is based on both geometric and extra-geometric aspects of spatial scenes. However, attempts to explicitly delineate different sources of extra-geometric influences are still comparatively rare; even more rare are attempts to combine these different sources so as to examine their interactions. This chapter presents four studies examining the ways in which three classes of attributes - geometric, functional, and qualitative physical - influence speakers' uses of the English spatial prepositions in and on. The experiments show that all three kinds of factors play roles in English speakers' choice between these prepositions. The chapter concludes that the semantics of spatial locatives must take into account a complex set of interacting factors.