In this study the author describes the linguistic expression of space in Caac an endangered
and under-documented Oceanic language spoken in New Caledonia from both a descriptive and
theoretical perspective. Part I provides a concise description of Caac grammar presenting a
first formal portrait of this language to the reader. Part II describes the formal and semantic
features of the linguistic resources available in Caac to encode spatial relationships. Part
III presents the theoretical framework based on and exploring further the vector analysis
developed by Bohnemeyer (2012) and Bohnemeyer & O'Meara (2012). In particular the author
proposes an additional sub-category of vectors (Head-unspecified Vectors) which accounts for
the uses of centrifugal forms in Caac. The resulting framework provides a systematic account of
expressions of orientation as well as location and motion and to combine the Frames of
Reference typology (Pederson et al. 1998 Levinson 1996 2003 Bohnemeyer & Levinson not
dated) with an analysis of deictic expressions within a single framework. Special attention
moreover is given to the use of Caac absolute and deictic directionals in spatial
constructions involving Fictive Motion. The analysis of Caac data leads us to introduce an
additional category of Fictive Motion beyond those previously recognised in the literature
labelled here Anticipated Paths which in turn shed new light on the nature of vectors and the
relationship between location motion and orientation.
