ABSTRACT
In the previous chapters of the book, we have set out the main components of the functional geometric framework and how these components come together. Our aim has been to provide a general framework. However, the account we have constructed has focused almost exclusively on the comprehension of spatial prepositions in English. Furthermore, only fleeting mention has been given to the acquisition of these terms. In this chapter, we consider how the framework sits with what is known about languages other than English and how language acquisition can be viewed within the framework. In particular, we will examine whether there is any evidence for the use of extra-geometric routines in the prelinguistic infant, in other languages, and in the utterances produced by children when they are acquiring a language. We also consider the issue of whether the routines associated with spatial language which are in the spatial representation system are the same routines associated with spatial categorisation and spatial memory.
