Семантика некоторых пространственных предлогов в русском и английском языках

A hypothesis is put forward about two possible types of partitioning space: in the first, some object Y is chosen which is taken to be the centre of special organization, the second object (X) is localized in space according to the relationship to Y; in the other type, space partitioning takes place independently of both objects which only occupy particular positions in it. The explication of these types of space partitioning in Russian and English is analysed and compared on the basis of space models with the prepositions and adverbs около, возле, у, рядом and near, nearby, close by, by, beside, next to.