Language has frequently been viewed as a window into the human mind. But not that we know more about the semantics of different languages, we are faced with an interesting problem: Different
languages seem to be telling us different stories about the nature of the mind. The question, then, is what are we to make of these cross-linguistic differences? How do they arise? Are they
created by purely linguistic processes operating over the course of language evolution? Do they represent differences in thought? In this sea of differences, are there any semantic universals?
If so, are these understandings of conceptual and linguistic development? Which categories might be given to us by our genetic inheritance, by culture, and by our language? Although these
questions have long been of interest to psychologists and linguists, there has only recently been a sufficient integration of research and methodologies necessary to make real progress in
answering them. This volume is the first to present the results of the research. It brings together to the leading researchers from an array of domains, including spatial relations, events,
emotion terms, motion events, objects, body-part terms, causation, color categories, and relational categories. As the authors' positions on theoretical issues span the range of viewpoints, the
book will provide a fair and balanced treatment of the debates associated with the language-thought interface. It will appeal to researchers and students in psychology and linguistics, with
interests in word meaning, concepts, and their development.
