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Which Direction Is the Opposite Side? The Ambiguity of Spatial Language and Communication Problems  

Lee, Jong-Won (Department of Social Studies Education, Ewha Womans University)
Publication Information
Journal of the Korean Geographical Society / v.43, no.1, 2008 , pp. 71-86 More about this Journal
Abstract
The ambiguity of spatial language can be a source of communication problems. For instance, the 'the opposite side' in a sentence such as 'where is the opposite side of building X' can mean more than one direction. Research interests are focused on the directions of a spatial language 'the opposite side'. This study also explored the effect of geometric properties such as reference object's shape and distance from the reference object and spatial reference frame in the comprehension of 'the opposite side'. The assessment tasks used consisted of rating how appropriate the sentence 'where is the opposite side of building X' was to describe a series of pictures. The results of experiment suggest that 'the opposite side' means in most cases more than one direction simultaneously. Changing spatial reference frame has significant effects on individuals' rating of the tasks. However, while reference object's shape (prolonged building) has a consistent effect of the ratings given, the distance from the reference object (shortened road width) has limited influence in comprehending the tasks.
Keywords
The opposite side; spatial cognition; spatial language; communication; spatial reference frame;
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