In press: In: Dimitrova-Vulchanova, M - NTNU

motion scenes that we had selected for the conceptual representation and lexical encoding of
such scenes. Our experiment has also demonstrated that subjects generally prefer the basiclevel
biological motion verbs to both more general (super-ordinate) and more concrete (underordinate)
verbs. Our general results have shed some light on the issue of universality of
cognitive concepts and their encoding in language. Our data provide support to the view that
many conceptual primitives are indeed based in universal cognitive categories. The main
difference across languages resides in how these features/primitives are encoded (or ‘bundle’
to use Jackendoff’s term) in lexical items and underdetermine their felicitous use. As it turns
out, a possible distinction might be along the lines of how these features split into sufficient
and necessary conditions, and whether these conditions apply in conjunction or disjunction
(cf. a new function proposed by Jackendoff 2002 for the latter type of disjunction).
Apparently, there are robust features that underlie the core concepts (which are also
semantically relevant) confirmed in our study by the overall high confidence level for
canonical (default) scenes across all three languages. Our data also indicate that in naming
processes there appears to be a prototypical packaging of the features that characterize
biological motion (e.g., walking upright front-forwards left-to-right, as also shown in Jellema
et al. 2002), while marginal members of the category are notoriously difficult to name. An
interesting question here is what is more salient in motion identification, the motion pattern
(cycle) or the body-shape/form, or rather the combination of both (cf. Madoley & Smith 2003
for a developmental study). In our study, non-default settings of more than one parameter
dramatically influence subjects’ responses or produce what we call “jamming” effects. The
latter were also observed with images showing “nonsensical movements”, such as e.g., a
baby-tortoise struggling to walk on a sand beach. That is, movements that are biologically
possible (e.g. following the laws of gravity, use of limbs etc.), which are, however, rarely
observed or culturally non-salient. 17 In such cases the preferred naming strategy is to use a
verb at grain level 0 (underspecified on all parameters) or try out obsolete or rare words.
Satellites would be used in conjunction with level 0 verbs or basic-level biological motion
verbs when more than one parameter is set at a non-default value. This strategy is clearly at
deviance from previously suggested functions of satellites, and we choose to label it the nondefault
explication function. Future cross-linguistic research will provide further support to
this tendency.
17 These images included, among others, a penguin sliding down an ice slope on full body, a baby sea turtle
trying to walk, a chimp baby trying to walk, a fish using its fins to “walk” out of water.
35