Goddard, Cliff (2002). On and on: Verbal explications for a polysemic network. Cognitive Linguistics, 13(3), 277-294. DOI: 10.1515/cogl.2002.019
The semantics of spatial prepositions has been much studied in cognitive linguistics, but not previously in terms in terms of verbal explication. This article analyzes prepositional on-constructions which concern the location of one physical object in relation to another (e.g., cup on the table, pendant on a chain, handle on the door, fins on its back), using the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) framework originated by Anna Wierzbicka. Four semantically discrete categories are identified and each is assigned a verbal paraphrase (explication) framed in the metalanguage of semantic primes. The semantic interrelationships between these meanings are briefly explored.
