Language and space: some interactions

Is language linked to mental representations of space? There are several re asons to think that language and space might be separated in our cognitive systems, but they nevertheless interact in important ways. These interactio ns are evident in language viewed as a means of communication and in langua ge considered a form of representation. In communication. spatial factors m ay be explicit in language itself, such as the spatial-gestural system of A merican Sign Language. Even the act of conversing with others is a spatial behavior because we orient to the locations of other participants. Language and spatial representations probably converge at an abstract level of conc epts and simple spatial schemes.