From spatial to abstract

Abstract This contribution focuses on how abstract relations are expressed using the German preposition auf in the pattern NP1 + auf + NP2 (e.g. die Hoffnung auf etwas ) and compares these expressions with their equivalents in English, Polish and Ukrainian. The qualitative analysis of the dictionary and corpus data identified 71 abstract nouns governing the preposition auf and their cross-linguistic equivalents, which revealed both convergence and divergence in the metaphorical extension of spatial prepositions to abstract domains. About 22% of the data revealed common patterns across the four languages in semantic domains such as aggression, cognition/communication, control and shopping behaviour. These shared expressions imply a shared reliance on common image schemas. However, significant variability emerges in prepositional usage, with Polish and Ukrainian often omitting prepositions in favor of genitive case marking, which reflects alternative morphosyntactic strategies. The findings support Langacker’s ( 1984 , 2008 ) view that meaning is conceptualization shaped by linguistic convention. By highlighting cross-linguistic similarities and differences in prepositional usage, the study offers theoretical implications for language pedagogy, particularly in teaching spatial and abstract prepositional meanings across languages.