Confused by terminology (board sections + space/majorities/attacks)

I don't know whether it's just me, but I can't make heads or tails of some really basic terminology. The chess authors I've encountered seem to play loosely with definitions, and I can't find any consistency -- not only among different authors but also with the same author in the same book or article. Given that these definitions are essential for formulating plans, I hope I'm not being needlessly pedantic. 

The answers to these questions ought to give me some clarity (or maybe even highlight the problem):

1. Which files do you take into account when looking at queenside space? kingside space? central space?

(If, as per some glossaries, the queenside is the a-d files and the kingside is the e-h files, then presumably a white pawn on, say, e4 or e5 is an instance of both kingside and central space. Is this correct? Where it gets confusing is that you have authors who, in one breath, will describe a pawn on f4 as kingside space and, in the other breath, the corresponding situation of a pawn on c4 as central space.) 

2. Consider a white pawn on e4 or e5. This gives some space. Which squares would you point to in order to demonstrate the space given by this pawn?

(At issue here, of course, is the definition of space itself.) 

3. Which files do you take into account when looking at a queenside pawn majority? a kingside pawn majority? a central pawn majority?

(Some authors will speak of a 4-3 queenside majority, yet other authors don't seem to include anything beyond 3-x, suggesting that they don't consider the d-file to be included in the count.)

4. When considering "an attack on a wing can often be countered by an attack in the center," which files do you consider to be part of "a wing," and which files do you consider to be "the center"?

(If "wing" is synonymous with "flank," as some glossaries insist, then, as per flank openings, presumably the a-c files constitute one flank and the f-h files another, with the d-e files as the center. No?)

I think it would be easier if you can accept that there is overlap. For white, a-d would be queenside, but when mentioning the center, c-f is possible.

That seems to work and would be consistent with the expanded center.

A-d files are the Queen's side, e-h are the K-side. 

The center is d4, d5, e4 e5.

Pawn majorities are easy to count. Just count which side has more pawns on the Q-side or the K-side.

The wings are a-c, and f-h, the center is the d and e. 

I believe the space of a pawn is the square or squares it attacks plus the file behind the pawn. The file is counted because, in most cases, it means you have that much more space for your pieces.