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From Headwaters to Estuary: Geocentric orientation and spatial cognition in Iwaro| title | From Headwaters to Estuary: Geocentric orientation and spatial cognition in Iwaro |
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| start_date | 2026/06/26 |
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| schedule | 15h30-16h15 |
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| online | no |
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| location_info | salle 510 |
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| summary | This paper examines the interaction of environment, language, and spatial cognition in Iwaro, a Papuan language spoken by about 500 people in four villages in West Papua, Indonesia. Iwaro exhibits a spatial system structured around multiple frames of reference, with a dominant geocentric orientation grounded in the riverine landscape. Core distinctions contrast movement toward the headwaters (‘upriver’) and the estuary (‘downriver’), as well as shoreward and forestward directions. Distinctions between ‘small’ and ‘big’ estuaries and forests are encoded through grammatical gender, with masculine forms associated with smaller domains and feminine forms with larger ones.
These environmental axes coexist with cardinal directions based on the course of the sun, while relative spatial relations are less prominent. Intrinsic relations are expressed through a heterogeneous set of constructions: ‘right’, ‘front’, and ‘back’ derive from possessed body-part terms, whereas ‘left’, ‘above’, and ‘inside’ are encoded by alienable relational nouns. Additional spatial concepts are conveyed through gendered postpositions and uninflected forms. Motion and location are closely integrated in the verbal system through directional verbs and complex predicates combining carrying and motion. |
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| responsibles | François |
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Workflow history| from state (1) | to state | comment | date |
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| submitted | published | | 2026/06/18 07:39 UTC |
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