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One of the central problems in spatial language understanding is the polysemy and the vagueness of spatial terms, which cannot be resolved by lexical knowledge alone. We address this issue by developing a representation framework for functional interactions between objects and agents. We use this framework with a constraint solver to resolve and recover the meanings of spatial descriptions for object placement tasks. We describe our approach in a virtual environment with an example of object placement task.

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Recent findings suggest that bilingual advantages emerge in specific groups of bilinguals who are exposed to contexts in which language switching is frequent (i.e., in dual-language contexts). Furthermore, it has been hypothesized that greater complexity of those dual-language contexts leads to more balanced spatial auditory attentional skills, which leads to better phonological and reading abilities. However, no studies have directly investigated whether switching habits of bilinguals positively correlate with spatial attentional rebalance, phonological skills, and reading skills. The first aim of this study is to utilize a classic language switching paradigm to objectively assess language switching costs (i.e., reaction time differences between switch and non-switch trials), which are hypothesized to reflect language switching habits and provide an objective index of dual-language context exposure. Additionally, previous research has shown that even in the absence of behavioral effects, cognitive effects of bilingualism are found in more sensitive indices, such as neuroimaging and pupillometric data. Therefore, the second aim of this study is to utilize a novel measure of switching cost, pupil size, which is potentially a more sensitive measure of individual differences than reaction times. The final aim is to examine whether behavioral (i.e., reaction time) and pupillometric measures of switching cost (objective measures hypothesized to reflect dual-language context exposure) will be related to more balanced spatial auditory attentional skills on a dichotic listening task (i.e., smaller right-ear advantage and bigger left-ear reports). Related to this last aim, we will also examine relationships with phonological and reading skills. This would provide support for the hypothesis that habitual language switching in a dual-language context leads to more balanced spatial auditory attentional skills, which supports phonological development and thus, reading acquisition.

Understanding how language encodes information about the world is a central question in cognitive science. Recent accounts suggest that humans derive real-world knowledge from linguistic patterns through daily use, as language users encode their perceptual world (Louwerse, 2018). Distributional semantic models (DSMs) support this by representing words as vectors in high-dimensional spaces, which reflect real-world patterns such as spatial structures, body knowledge, and human biases (Rinaldi & Marelli, 2020; Günther et al., 2019). Linguistic indices, derived from such models, often predict behavior better than non-linguistic factors (Louwerse, 2008; Gatti et al., 2024). This study explores whether language, a non-spatial system, can encode spatial information without relying on a dedicated spatial memory. Using a mouse-tracking paradigm, we aim to examine if words implicitly associated with vertical space influence motor and attentional biases, shedding light on how linguistic patterns shape spatial cognition.

This article is from Frontiers in Psychology , volume 5 . Abstract Three decades of research suggests that cognitive simulation of motion is involved in the comprehension of object location, bodily configuration, and linguistic meaning. For example, the remembered location of an object associated with actual or implied motion is typically displaced in the direction of motion. In this paper, two experiments explore context effects in spatial displacement. They provide a novel approach to estimating the remembered location of an implied motion image by employing a cursor-positioning task. Both experiments examine how the remembered spatial location of a person is influenced by subtle differences in implied motion, specifically, by shifting the orientation of the person’s body to face upward or downward, and by pairing the image with motion language that differed on intentionality, fell versus jumped. The results of Experiment 1, a survey-based experiment, suggest that language and body orientation influenced vertical spatial displacement. Results of Experiment 2, a task that used Adobe Flash and Amazon Mechanical Turk, showed consistent effects of body orientation on vertical spatial displacement but no effect of language. Our findings are in line with previous work on spatial displacement that uses a cursor-positioning task with implied motion stimuli. We discuss how different ways of simulating motion can influence spatial memory.

This article is from Frontiers in Psychology , volume 5 . Abstract Three decades of research suggests that cognitive simulation of motion is involved in the comprehension of object location, bodily configuration, and linguistic meaning. For example, the remembered location of an object associated with actual or implied motion is typically displaced in the direction of motion. In this paper, two experiments explore context effects in spatial displacement. They provide a novel approach to estimating the remembered location of an implied motion image by employing a cursor-positioning task. Both experiments examine how the remembered spatial location of a person is influenced by subtle differences in implied motion, specifically, by shifting the orientation of the person’s body to face upward or downward, and by pairing the image with motion language that differed on intentionality, fell versus jumped. The results of Experiment 1, a survey-based experiment, suggest that language and body orientation influenced vertical spatial displacement. Results of Experiment 2, a task that used Adobe Flash and Amazon Mechanical Turk, showed consistent effects of body orientation on vertical spatial displacement but no effect of language. Our findings are in line with previous work on spatial displacement that uses a cursor-positioning task with implied motion stimuli. We discuss how different ways of simulating motion can influence spatial memory.

Previous research indicates that the processing of words with emotional valence may elicit more of an affective response in one’s native language than one’s second language. Moreover, in monolinguals, a link has been established between the processing of written valenced words and their visuo-spatial characteristics. For example, people are faster to process positive words when they appear on top of a page than when they appear at the bottom, and negative words when they appear at the bottom than when they appear on top (Meier & Robinson, 2004). However, although this type of finding is robust when the words are presented in one’s first language, it is not clear whether this pattern remains when bilinguals are presented with words in their second language. If valenced words elicit less of an emotional response when read in a second language, it is possible that their link to the visuo-spatial characteristics through language is also weaker.

This study builds upon previous research demonstrating that in bilinguals, words with high emotional valence produce more of an affective response in L1 than L2. It has been seen in monolinguals that visuo-spatial characteristics can further alter the speed in which emotionally valenced words are processed. The current study aims to explore this interaction further, focussing specifically on how words presented in large/small text alter response latencies to emotionally valenced words presented. Furthermore, success (determined by error rates/response latencies) will be compared between those performing the task in their native language (L1) and bilinguals performing the task in their non-native language (L2).

This study builds upon previous research demonstrating that in bilinguals, words with high emotional valence produce more of an affective response in L1 than L2. It has been seen in monolinguals that visuo-spatial characteristics can further alter the speed in which emotionally valenced words are processed. The current study aims to explore this interaction further, focussing specifically on how words presented in large/small text alter response latencies to emotionally valenced words presented. Furthermore, success (determined by error rates/response latencies) will be compared between those performing the task in their native language (L1) and bilinguals performing the task in their non-native language (L2).

This study builds upon previous research demonstrating that in bilinguals, words with high emotional valence produce more of an affective response in L1 than L2. It has been seen in monolinguals that visuo-spatial characteristics can further alter the speed in which emotionally valenced words are processed. The current study aims to explore this interaction further, focussing specifically on how words presented in large/small text alter response latencies to emotionally valenced words presented. Furthermore, success (determined by error rates/response latencies) will be compared between those performing the task in their native language (L1) and bilinguals performing the task in their non-native language (L2).

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http://uf.catalog.fcla.edu/uf.jsp?st=UF021867867&ix=pm&I=0&V=D&pm=1

In conversation, people often use spatial relationships to describe their environment, e.g., There is a desk in front of me and a doorway behind it, and to issue directives, e.g., Go around the desk and through the doorway. In our research, we have been investigating the use of spatial relationships to establish a natural communication mechanism between people and robots, in particular, for novice users. In this paper, the work on robot spatial relationships is combined with a multi-modal robot interface. We show how linguistic spatial descriptions and other spatial information can be extracted from an evidence grid map and how this information can be used in a natural, human-robot dialog. Examples using spatial language are included for both robot-to-human feedback and also human-to-robot commands. We also discuss some linguistic consequences in the semantic representations of spatial and locative information based on this work.

The development of spatial cognition is understudied in young children. This project is going to study the contribution of spatial language to the development of spatial ability in young children (age range 3-6 years old). As prior research has shown, language and cognition are closely linked, especially in early stages. Furthermore, spatial language seems to facilitate spatial cognition which is in turn predictive for later maths and science skills. We will investigate whether and when a sex difference in spatial language skills and spatial abilities might emerge. Furthermore, the impact of inherent (e.g., biological sex, age) and societal factors (e.g., interests and free time activities, socio-economic status, school status) are explored. The fundamental ambition is to identify which aspects of spatial ability are more malleable (and thus receptive to training intervention) and to determine whether spatial language is an effective scaffolding tool for young children’s cognitive development.

In this study children took part in two 3-minute Duplo play sessions, one with their father and one with their mother, once at 24 months and again at 48 months. Mother, father and child spatial language (“what” and “where” words) was measured. We asked novel questions related to gender differences in spatial language.

Recent accounts suggest that humans derive real-world knowledge from linguistic patterns through daily use, as language users encode their perceptual world (Louwerse, 2018). Distributional semantic models (DSMs) support this by representing words as vectors in high-dimensional spaces, which reflect real-world patterns such as spatial structures, body knowledge, and human biases (Rinaldi & Marelli, 2020; Günther et al., 2019). Linguistic information, derived from such models, often predict behavior better than non-linguistic factors (Louwerse, 2008; Gatti et al., 2024). A key question is whether spatial information encoded in language can influence behavior. Prior findings suggest that vertical associations from words (e.g., ‘sun,’ ‘grass’) may affect attentional and motor responses (Estes et al., 2008; Lachmair et al., 2011; Hollander & Olney, 2024). This study investigates whether such effects extend to words not overtly tied to spatial meaning but statistically associated with vertical locations in natural language. Probing that language alone can guide spatial attention would provide further support for the idea that linguistic experience encodes spatial information – even without direct sensory input.

The present study was an attempt to investigate the differences in the accessibility of phonological, semantic, and orthographic aspects of words in L2 vocabulary learning. For this purpose, a sample of 119 Iranian intermediate level EFL students in a private language institute in Karaj was selected. All of the participants received the same instructional treatment. At the end of the experimental period, three tests were administered based on the previously-taught words. A subset of Gardner's' (1983) Multiple Intelligences questionnaire was also used for data collection. A repeated measures one-way ANOVA procedure was used to analyze the obtained data. The results showed significant differences in the accessibility of phonological, semantic, and orthographic aspects of words in second language vocabulary learning. Moreover, to investigate the relationships between spatial and linguistic intelligences and the afore-mentioned aspects of lexical knowledge, a correlational analysis was used. No significant relationships were found between spatial and linguistic intelligences and the three aspects of lexical knowledge. These findings may have theoretical and pedagogical implications for researchers, teachers, and learners.

Behavioral research on the vertical spatial metaphor mechanism of second language emotional concepts and the learning mechanism of emotional concepts based on embodied cognitive theory.

We present a system for generating and understanding of dynamic and static spatial relations in robotic interaction setups. Robots describe an environment of moving blocks using English phrases that include spatial relations such as "across" and "in front of". We evaluate the system in robot-robot interactions and show that the system can robustly deal with visual perception errors, language omissions and ungrammatical utterances.

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 20 titles deal with the following topics: the role of crib talk in language acquisition; syntactic parsing strategies; a case study of the first use of words; how two modes of literature presentation affect oral language development; children's cognition and acquisition of selected syntactic structures; language use in constructing/testing social scientific theories; the functions of language in discussions; visual literacy as a factor in language development; form and function as a basis for referential development in children; discriminating synthetic speech sounds; assessing secondary school students' knowledge of prefixes; language within power relationships; a flexible child-talk code; developing spatial and syntactic transformations; the acquisition of five syntactic structures by elementary school children; the developmental relationship between comprehension and production of grammatical morphemes in preschool children; how preschool children sequence narrative events; classifying preschool children's uses of meaningful language on selected conceptual tasks; maternal self-repetition and child feedback; and the mastery of specific conjunctions by elementary school children. (RL)

This paper discusses grounded acquisition experiments of increasing complexity. Humanoid robots acquire English spatial lexicons from robot tutors. We identify how various spatial language systems, such as projective, absolute and proximal can be learned. The proposed learning mechanisms do not rely on direct meaning transfer or direct access to world models of interlocutors. Finally, we show how multiple systems can be acquired at the same time.

This article is from Frontiers in Psychology , volume 5 . Abstract Various studies have shown that occurrence of locomotion in infancy is correlated with the development of spatial cognitive competencies. Recent evidence suggests that locomotor experience might also be important for the development of spatial language. Together these findings suggest that locomotor experience might play a crucial role in the development of linguistic-cognitive spatial skills. However, some studies indicate that, despite their total deprivation of locomotor experience, young children with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) have the capacity to acquire and use rich spatial representations including good spatial language. Nonetheless, we have to be cautious about what the striking performances displayed by SMA children can reveal on the link between motor and spatial development, as the dynamics of brain development in atypically developing children are different from typically developing children.

BioScape is a concurrent language motivated by the biological landscapes found at the interface of biology and biomaterials. It has been motivated by the need to model antibacterial surfaces, biofilm formation, and the effect of DNAse in treating and preventing biofilm infections. As its predecessor, SPiM, BioScape has a sequential semantics based on Gillespie's algorithm, and its implementation does not scale beyond 1000 agents. However, in order to model larger and more realistic systems, a semantics that may take advantage of the new multi-core and GPU architectures is needed. This motivates the introduction of parallel semantics, which is the contribution of this paper: Parallel BioScape, an extension with fully parallel semantics.

The study examines whether the use of LEGO® to train spatial skills (the "SPAtial Cognition to Enhance mathematical learning (SPACE)" intervention) impacts mental rotation, spatial language and mathematics skills differently based on school-based socioeconomic status (SES), gender, and the interaction between these two factors.

The study examines whether the use of LEGO® to train spatial skills (the "SPAtial Cognition to Enhance mathematical learning (SPACE)" intervention) impacts mental rotation, spatial language and mathematics skills differently based on school-based socioeconomic status (SES), gender, and the interaction between these two factors.

It is well known that perspective alignment plays a major role in the planning and interpretation of spatial language. In order to understand the role of perspective alignment and the cognitive processes involved, we have made precise complete cognitive models of situated embodied agents that self-organise a communication system for dialoging about the position and movement of real world objects in their immediate surroundings. We show in a series of robotic experiments which cognitive mechanisms are necessary and sufficient to achieve successful spatial language and why and how perspective alignment can take place, either implicitly or based on explicit marking.

This book presents groundbreaking robotic experiments on how and why spatial language evolves. It provides detailed explanations of the origins of spatial conceptualization strategies, spatial categories, landmark systems and spatial grammar by tracing the interplay of environmental conditions, communicative and cognitive pressures. The experiments discussed in this book go far beyond previous approaches in grounded language evolution. For the first time, agents can evolve not only particular lexical systems but also evolve complex conceptualization strategies underlying the emergence of category systems and compositional semantics. Moreover, many issues in cognitive science, ranging from perception and conceptualization to language processing, had to be dealt with to instantiate these experiments, so that this book contributes not only to the study of language evolution but to the investigation of the cognitive bases of spatial language as well.

In this study children took part in two 3-minute Duplo play sessions, one with their father and one with their mother, once at 24 months and again at 48 months. At 48 months, spatial and number measures were administered. Mother, father and child spatial language (“what” and “where” words), child spatial skills and child number skills were measured. We ask novel questions about the profile of spatial language, and concurrent and longitudinal relationships between spatial language, spatial skills and number skills.

This study attempts to replicate a finding reported by Stoll & Dye (2019) that the bias towards accumulating perceptual evidence from the inferior hemifield (relative to the superior visual field) is greater in people who use a sign language than in those who are sign-naive. The replication deviates from the original in that it is conducted online and will recruit signers who use languages other than ASL. The study will also include an extension whereby sign language fluency is used to predict the extent of the hemifield bias.

Spatial language constitutes part of the basic fabric of language. Although languages may have the same number of terms to cover a set of spatial relations, they do not always do so in the same way. Spatial languages differ across languages quite radically, thus providing a real semantic challenge for second language learners. The essay first examines the variables that underpin the comprehension and production of spatial prepositions in English. Then the essay reviews the functional geometric framework for spatial language and a computational model of the framework that grounds spatial language directly in visual routines. Finally, the essay considers the implications of the model for both first and second language acquisition.

This study looks at the potential impact of cross-linguistic differences in spatial organisation on attention and sensory memory. Languages differ in their categorisation of certain spatial relationships. For example, whilst English, Dutch and many other languages distinguish between an ON and ABOVE relationship, Korean and Japanese speakers use the same preposition for both. Dutch speakers have an extra preposition in addition to IN and ON to describe close attachment relationships. Spanish speakers use the preposition EN to encompass many different spatial arrangements. Furthermore, this study will look at the perception of and memory for implied goal of motion (e. g. a car is driving along a road towards a village in the distance). Studies show that speakers of different languages show different levels of attention towards the goal of motion, depending on the aspectual system of their language as well as the preferred manner of motion lexicalisation patterns. The present study employs a change blindness paradigm. Change blindness research shows that participants are quicker to notice between-category changes. This study explores what happens when such categories vary across languages: a certain change in spatial configurations will be within-category for some speakers and between-category for others (IN to ABOVE in Korean vs. in English). Furthermore, the study will employ real-life stimuli (still images of relatively busy everyday scenes) to raise the ecological validity of the study (rather than using schematic drawings of spatial relationships which do not present a high cognitive load for participants). This methodology will allow us to assess potential effects of language on attention and short-term memory. This cross-linguistic study will test speakers of English, Dutch, Japanese, Spanish and Finnish. More languages might be added based on further reading.

This study looks at the potential impact of cross-linguistic differences in spatial organisation on attention and sensory memory. Languages differ in their categorisation of certain spatial relationships. For example, whilst English, Dutch and many other languages distinguish between an ON and ABOVE relationship, Korean and Japanese speakers use the same preposition for both. Dutch speakers have an extra preposition in addition to IN and ON to describe close attachment relationships. Spanish speakers use the preposition EN to encompass many different spatial arrangements. Furthermore, this study will look at the perception of and memory for implied goal of motion (e. g. a car is driving along a road towards a village in the distance). Studies show that speakers of different languages show different levels of attention towards the goal of motion, depending on the aspectual system of their language as well as the preferred manner of motion lexicalisation patterns. The present study employs a change blindness paradigm. Change blindness research shows that participants are quicker to notice between-category changes. This study explores what happens when such categories vary across languages: a certain change in spatial configurations will be within-category for some speakers and between-category for others (IN to ABOVE in Korean vs. in English). Furthermore, the study will employ real-life stimuli (still images of relatively busy everyday scenes) to raise the ecological validity of the study (rather than using schematic drawings of spatial relationships which do not present a high cognitive load for participants). This methodology will allow us to assess potential effects of language on attention and short-term memory. This cross-linguistic study will test speakers of English, Dutch, Japanese, Spanish and Finnish. More languages might be added based on further reading.

This study looks at the potential impact of cross-linguistic differences in spatial organisation on attention and sensory memory. Languages differ in their categorisation of certain spatial relationships. For example, whilst English, Dutch and many other languages distinguish between an ON and ABOVE relationship, Korean and Japanese speakers use the same preposition for both. Dutch speakers have an extra preposition in addition to IN and ON to describe close attachment relationships. Spanish speakers use the preposition EN to encompass many different spatial arrangements. Furthermore, this study will look at the perception of and memory for implied goal of motion (e. g. a car is driving along a road towards a village in the distance). Studies show that speakers of different languages show different levels of attention towards the goal of motion, depending on the aspectual system of their language as well as the preferred manner of motion lexicalisation patterns. The present study employs a change blindness paradigm. Change blindness research shows that participants are quicker to notice between-category changes. This study explores what happens when such categories vary across languages: a certain change in spatial configurations will be within-category for some speakers and between-category for others (IN to ABOVE in Korean vs. in English). Furthermore, the study will employ real-life stimuli (still images of relatively busy everyday scenes) to raise the ecological validity of the study (rather than using schematic drawings of spatial relationships which do not present a high cognitive load for participants). This methodology will allow us to assess potential effects of language on attention and short-term memory. This cross-linguistic study will test speakers of English, Dutch, Japanese, Spanish and Finnish. More languages might be added based on further reading.

This study looks at the potential impact of cross-linguistic differences in spatial organisation on attention and sensory memory. Languages differ in their categorisation of certain spatial relationships. For example, whilst English, Dutch and many other languages distinguish between an ON and ABOVE relationship, Korean and Japanese speakers use the same preposition for both. Dutch speakers have an extra preposition in addition to IN and ON to describe close attachment relationships. Spanish speakers use the preposition EN to encompass many different spatial arrangements. Furthermore, this study will look at the perception of and memory for implied goal of motion (e. g. a car is driving along a road towards a village in the distance). Studies show that speakers of different languages show different levels of attention towards the goal of motion, depending on the aspectual system of their language as well as the preferred manner of motion lexicalisation patterns. The present study employs a change blindness paradigm. Change blindness research shows that participants are quicker to notice between-category changes. This study explores what happens when such categories vary across languages: a certain change in spatial configurations will be within-category for some speakers and between-category for others (IN to ABOVE in Korean vs. in English). Furthermore, the study will employ real-life stimuli (still images of relatively busy everyday scenes) to raise the ecological validity of the study (rather than using schematic drawings of spatial relationships which do not present a high cognitive load for participants). This methodology will allow us to assess potential effects of language on attention and short-term memory. This cross-linguistic study will test speakers of English, Dutch, Japanese, Spanish and Finnish. More languages might be added based on further reading.

Previous studies have shown that reading direction of a language affects the direction in which events are organized and processed (Christman and Pinger, 1997). For example, when presented with mirrored images of moving objects, speakers of languages written from left-to-right (e.g., English) were found to prefer the images with a rightward directionality, while right-to-left readers (e.g., Hebrew speakers) preferred the ones with a leftward directionality (Nachson, Argaman, & Luria, 1999; Chokron & De Agostini, 2000). Limited evidence suggests a similar influence of reading direction on language processing tasks. One example is experiments testing language comprehension, in which monolingual speakers of left-to-right/right-to-left languages were asked to listen to action sentences and then create spatial representations of them by drawing. Speakers of left-to-right languages (e.g., German) tended to place the agent on the left of their drawings, while a reversed pattern was observed for speakers of right-to-left languages (e.g., Hebrew) (Maass and Russo, 2003; Dobel, Diesendruck and Bölte, 2007). Another example is studies investigating language production, where monolingual participants had to form sentences after being presented with two images side-by-side or one image with two characters. Speakers of left-to-right languages preferred to use the left image or character as the sentences’ subject, and vice versa for speakers of right-to-left languages (Bergen and Chan, 2005; Esaulova et al., 2021). To account for these findings and the impact of reading direction on cognition, several explanations were proposed. The first one was the cultural hypothesis, which postulates that repetitive behaviours associated with culture may reinforce or affect the existing functional hemispheric specializations, presumably at the level of cognitive strategies (Chokron, 2002; Paulesu et al., 2000). Reading and writing may act as such behaviour, leading to a leftward or rightward bias respective to the specific scanning bias of the language (Paulesu et al., 2000). The scanning bias is then reinforced as the reading direction of the language also affects other aspects of the culture, such as the direction of timelines (Fuhrman and Boroditsky, 2007, 2010). This hypothesis suggests that the described effect is mainly due to exposure to culture and is not language-specific. This might also explain the reports of no bias for speakers of left-to-right/right-to-left language, who live in a country where they are predominantly exposed to the opposing scanning direction (Altmann et al., 2006; Kazandjian et al., 2011). The cultural hypothesis, however, cannot account for the findings showing that the spatial bias in one’s mother tongue is not affected by long-term exposure to cultures in which languages are read in the opposite direction (Bergen and Chan, 2005). This theory also cannot explain the results of Román et al. (2015), showing that brief exposure to right-to-left text has led to a temporary change in the directionality of drawings of auditory sentences by Spanish speakers. A different approach for explaining the causes of this effect can be found in the Spatial Agency Bias (SAB) model (Suitner and Maass. 2016). This model proposes that this observed asymmetry develops from the embodied and habitual processes of handwriting and visual scanning involved in reading (Suitner et al., 2021). According to the model, the reading direction of a language determines where our attention is allocated initially, and which direction it follows. That leads to the creation of a generalized schema for action, which is then used for mental representation and interpretation across different cognitive tasks. Although theoretically sound, the SAB model has yet been empirically validated. The present study fills the current gap by offering the following: A) To add further evidence to the current literature on the potential effect of reading direction on language production, by comparing monolingual speakers of languages that were not yet tested (Hebrew and Persian). Hebrew offers an interesting case for studying the embodied aspect of the SAB model since the Hebrew letters cannot be joined and most of its characters are formed from left-to-right, unlike the cursive script and characters used in Arabic and Persian (Tversky et al., 1991). Furthermore, testing Persian allows us to address the recent advancement in the SAB model, suggesting that this spatial bias is weaker in flexible languages compared to rigid ones. Persian is considered a more flexible language due to omitting of first, second and third-person subjects being common, unlike in English and Hebrew (Vainikka & Levy, 1995). B) To examine if this effect is driven by (1) the directionality embedded within a culture, (2) uneven attention allocation, as proposed by the SAB model, or (3) language-specific representational schema regardless of cultural conventions or attentional allocation. The focus of this project is language production, and thus we will explore the mental representations generated during sentence production in two experiments. The participants will be asked to view side-by-side images and write sentences using the presented objects (based on Bergen and Chan, 2005). We aim to examine the three possible interpretations described above by testing English speakers residing in the UK, Hebrew speakers residing in Israel, and Persian speakers living outside of Iran (i.e., exposed to an opposite scanning bias) to address the cultural influence. We will also track the participants’ mouse movements during the experiment to monitor their attention, and finally, we will test bilinguals alongside monolinguals to examine whether their results differ depending on the experiment's input language (English or Hebrew/Persian). To control for the bilinguals' exposure to the opposing scanning bias and other languages, we will seek information about the following: their time spent living abroad, level of usage of English in daily life, knowledge of other foreign languages (Maass and Russo, 2003). We will also evaluate their English proficiency by using two tasks to measure reading fluency, taken from the standardized English test PTE (Pearson Test of English) (Pae, 2012; Riazi, 2013).

In conversation, people often use spatial relationships to describe their environment, e.g., There is a desk in front of me and a doorway behind it, and to issue directives, e.g., Go around the desk and through the doorway. In our research, we have been investigating the use of spatial relationships to establish a natural communication mechanism between people and robots, in particular, for novice users. In this paper, the work on robot spatial relationships is combined with a multi-modal robot interface developed at the Naval Research Lab. We show how linguistic spatial descriptions and other spatial information can be extracted from an evidence grid map and how this information can be used in a natural, human-robot dialog.