How many reference frames?

Abstract

There is considerable cross-disciplinary confusion concerning the taxonomy of reference frames and no standard of comparison for reference frame usage exists to allow reliable comparison of cross-linguistic, cross-cultural, and task-specific variation. This paper proposes that we examine reference frame selection in terms of the underlying component operations. The selection of these operations can be mapped out in a multi-dimensional space defined in terms of the scalar properties of the reference objects and their relationship to the speaker/viewer.