Abstract This article investigates the extent to which the way individuals describe spatial relationships correlates with features of the local landscape. Drawing on empirical data from two unrelated languages, Dhivehi (Indo-Aryan) and Marshallese (Austronesian), across a range of topographic environments, we examine the linguistic resources available to speakers, and spatial referential strategy preferences across languages and environments. We find that spatial language shows sensitivity to features of the topography, but this is mediated by the way speakers interact with the landscape. This leads us to propose a Sociotopographic Model, modelling the complex interplay of language structure, local environment, cultural practices, and language use, at odds with competing claims about the primacy of language or of environment in shaping spatial cognition.

中文翻译：

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环境如何塑造空间语言？社会地形学证据

摘要本文研究了个人描述空间关系的方式与当地景观特征相关的程度。利用来自两种不相关语言的经验数据，在一系列地形环境中的Dhivehi（印度－雅利安语）和Marshallese（澳大利亚语），我们研究了可供说话者使用的语言资源以及跨语言和环境的空间参照策略偏好。我们发现空间语言显示出对地形特征的敏感性，但这是由说话者与景观交互的方式所介导的。因此，我们提出了一个社会地形学模型，该模型对语言结构，当地环境，文化习俗和语言使用之间的复杂相互作用进行了建模，