ABSTRACT
Although there seems to be agreement on the possible involvement of reference axes in spatial language use, there is no agreement about the way in which reference axes are represented, which axes are cognitively more prominent than other ones, how reference axes are categorized, and whether the representation and categorization of such axes is universal or not. This symposium brings together papers that take a different standpoint on these issues. The purpose of the symposium is to bring more clarity in the factors that determine reference axis representation and categorization for the purpose of language. Edward Munnich, Barbara Landau and Barbara Dosher (University of California) present two experiments with native English, Japanese and Korean speakers. Emile van der Zee (University of Lincoln) and Rik Eshuis present two separate theories on reference axis representation and categorization. They assume that both reference axis representation and categorization may be based on the spatial features of an object.
