Introduction

Languages differ widely in how they talk about spatial relations, presenting a challenge for second language learners. For example, Indo-European languages, including English, employ ‘projective’ prepositions to describe where objects are located in space. These terms (to the left of, in front of, etc.) depend for their interpretation on the choice of reference frame adopted (Levinson, 1996). The pram is behind the mailbox can mean the pram is located on the opposite side of the mailbox from where the slot is (using the intrinsic/object-centered frame) or alternatively that the pram is located beside the opposite side from where the speaker and hearer are located (using the relative/viewer-centered frame). In contrast, languages such as Arandic, Guugu Yimithirr and Tzeltal use the absolute frame to describe such relations (equivalents of The pram is North/West/uphill/downhill of the mailbox). This has led some researchers to ask whether there are corresponding differences in speakers’ non-linguistic abilities. Moreover, if one assumes that such differences are present in first language (L1) speakers, one can ask whether second language learners acquire conceptual differences corresponding to the new distinctions made in the second language (L2), and at what point such differences emerge (see Odlin, 2008a, for a discussion).

In a program of work examining the L1 and L2 acquisition of spatial prepositions in English and Spanish, our primary goal was to examine whether L2 learners at different levels of proficiency exhibit conceptual shifts in their understanding of support and containment relations (as well as other relations) as a function of language spoken. While English has two separate words for containment and support relations (in and on, respectively), Spanish has a single term (en) that applies to both containment and support relations. This difference between English and Spanish seemed to be a good candidate to examine any conceptual shifts as a function of language level.