The spatial logic of language

Ecological approaches to language are typically framed in negative terms, i.e. as arejection of existing symbolic approaches. I here sketch the outlines of a positiveformulation for ecological linguistics. According to this positive formulation, languageis built on a pre-existing foundation of spatial reasoning. I illustrate this through casesfrom comparative, developmental, and cultural-historical psychology. I discuss how theecological formulation leads to a different set of research questions from those that arefamiliar from Chomskyan linguistics. I end by discussing some lessons and futurepriorities for an ecological linguistics research program.