Spaces in Language (Topoi C-I-1)

Research Group C-I-1 was dedicated to language and text and was to investigate linguistically how spaces are constituted within various systems of language on the lexical and grammatical level. The group used a comparative approach to assess how spatiality is represented in ancient languages (Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite, Egyptian and Coptic, Ancient Greek, and Latin). Basic parameters of linguistic coding and denominating of spatiality, such as terms describing space in general, orientation in space, spatial dimensions, and spatial relations have been analyzed. This has been compared with non-linguistic representations of space.