The configuration of SPACE and TIME
We begin this section by revisiting the domains of SPACE and TIME. These conceptual domains have been recurring themes throughout the earlier parts of the book (see Chapters 3, 6 and 7 for example), and will continue to be prominent throughout Part III. Talmy views these as the primary basic domains.
The neutral term quantity is used by Talmy to refer to the content of these conceptual domains. The quantity that exists in the domain of SPACE is matter, which may be either continuous or discrete. We return to these terms directly, but for the time being we can think of ‘continuous’ matter as having no inherent ‘segmentation’ in its composition; this type of matter is mass, illustrated by AIR. Discrete matter, on the other hand, does have inherent ‘segmentation’, and this type of matter characterises objects which can be divided into parts, like the entity BIKE. The quantity that exists in the domain of TIME is action, which can also be continuous or discrete. Continuous action, like (to) SLEEP, is called activity. Discrete action, like (to) BREATHE, is described as an act. The difference between these two types of action is that it is not possible to describe the sub-parts of sleeping (unless you are a sleep specialist), while breathing is characterised by a series of distinct subparts (inhaling and exhaling). This partition of the domains of SPACE and TIME is summarised in Table 15.1.
The difference between the domains of TIME and SPACE is that while TIME has the property of progression, SPACE is static. ‘Progression’ means that the quantity within this domain is made up of a sequence of distinct representations because it changes from one instance to the next. By way of illustration, imagine photographing someone engaged in an activity like stroking a cat. Each of the photographs you take will be different from the previous one, and together they portray the activity. In contrast, change is not an inherent property of objects, although of course objects can be involved in processes of change.
According to Talmy, these two conceptual domains are reflected in the way the grammatical subsystem encodes and externalises patterns of thought (the CR). In other words, the distinction between the domains of SPACE and TIME is reflected in grammatical structure. In the most general terms, verbs or verb phrases prototypically encode entities from the domain of TIME (activity and acts), while nouns or noun phrases prototypically encode entities from the domain of SPACE (masses and objects). This is illustrated by the examples in Table 15.2.
