Classroom:NTNU, LING1113 (2009) - Some Terminology
=Superiority
In Norwegian we have the prepositions 'på' and 'over' signaling superiority. Also the term superiority is taken from Frawley's work referring the "upwardly projected ideal space from the reference object" (Frawley 1992, p.266).Yet, the term does not seem a particular lucky one, since it mainly seems to be understood as relating to social dominance, prestige and rank.
An example of spatial expressions denoting the upward space relative to the Ground is "Vi går på broen over veien", which means "we walk on the bridge over the road". "Vi" is the located object and "broen" is the reference object where 'på' is the preposition used to denote superiority. The located object is "broen" and the reference object is "veien" in the case where we use 'over' as the preposition. The located object is in the upward space from the reference object without them having contact with each other. In this example we have atelicity, path, goal, single motion and the locomotion is walking. Another example using the preposition 'over' in Norwegian is "Lampen henger over bordet" which translated into English would be "The lamp hangs over the table". In this case "the lamp" is the located object being in the upward space from the reference object, namely the table, without them being in contact. We have a physical location in this example. A third example is an example where 'over' is used as denoting a concept instead of an actual location. A sentence might be "bibliografi over litteratur", which means "bibliography of literature". Here the located object "bibliografi" is not in the space superior to the literature, which is the reference object. It rather means "bibliografi" focusing on "litteratur".
'Ovenfor' is another preposition signalling superiority. This preposition denotes that the located object is located over the reference object, without any contact between them. It is higher than it. A sentence could be "Huset står ovenfor skolen", which means "the house stands above the school". "Huset" is higher situated in space than "skolen", it is on a higher place. 'Ovenfor' could also have a conceptual meaning when we say "et avsnitt ovenfor på denne siden", which means "a paragraph earlier on this page". It does not mean that the located object "en side" is superior to "denne siden", the reference object.
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