This book investigates whether the use of spatial prepositions in human language is driven primarily by geometric location or by the functional interaction between objects. The authors, Kenny R. Coventry and Simon C. Garrod, draw upon extensive experimental research in cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics to challenge traditional geometric accounts of spatial language. They propose a functional-geometric framework that integrates how humans perceive, act upon, and describe the spatial relationships between entities in their environment.

Experts in cognitive science recognize this work as a significant contribution to the study of how language maps onto physical reality. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which serves as a foundational text for researchers interested in the intersection of perception and semantics.