ASPAM investigates the acquisition of spatial expressions in Marquesan, an East-Polynesian language spoken in French Polynesia (South Pacific). The children's ages range from 3 to 14 years. The data is collected by undertaking a variety of semi-controlled interactive tasks, elicitations of picture stimuli as well as natural mother-child-interactions. The data was collected between March 1997 and August 1999 in three subsequent field trips to 'Ua Pou island in the North Marquesas. The data is cross-sectional (i.e. children of different age groups performing the same task) as well as partly developmental as some children were recorded on all three field trips and several times during one field trip which was undertaken over a period of at least two and a half months. The time gaps between each field trip are from 9 to 14 months. a short description of the project: This project has collected data in the domain of static as well as dynamic localisation in adult and child language. Data of dynamic localisation comprises the verbal domain, in particular caused motion verbals and transfer verbals (=causative positionals). Static localisation is mainly expressed by complex noun phrase constructions. Adult speakers of Marquesan make use of an intrinsic, relative and absolute frame of spatial reference with a preference for the so-called absolute frame of reference (=FoR). An absolute FoR is based on fixed reference points such as landmarks (slope, river, mountain, stars etc.). Like many other Pacific island populations, speakers of Marquesan use a non-cardinal, local landmark system based on the landmarks SEA and LAND.
