Gesture: Difference between revisions

[[File:Unclesamwantyou.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Pointing at another person with an extended finger is considered rude in many cultures.]]Although the scientific study of gesture is still in its infancy, some broad categories of gestures have been identified by researchers.

Communicative gestures are gestures that are not informative. These are gestures that are produced intentionally and meaningfully by a person as a way of intensifying or modifying speech produced in the vocal tract (in with the hands in the case of Sign Language), even though a speaker may not be actively aware that they are producing communicative gestures. The previous examples of informative gestures can become communicative when a speaker consciously uses them to communicate something about themselves or someone else.

Within the realm of communicative gestures, the first distinction to be made is between gestures made with the hands and arms, and gestures made with other parts of the body. Examples of Non-manual gestures may include head [[Nod (gesture)|nodding]] and [[Head shake|shaking]], [[Shrug|shoulder shrugging]], and [[facial expression]], among others. Non-manual gestures are attested in languages all around the world, but have not been the primary focus of most research regarding co-speech gesture.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Abner et. al.|first=Natasha|year=2015|title=Gesture for Linguists: A Handy Primer|url=https://goldin-meadow-lab.uchicago.edu/sites/goldin-meadow-lab.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/PDFs/2015_Abner,%20Cooperrider,%20Goldin-Meadow%20-%20Gesture%20for%20Linguists%20A%20Handy%20Primer.pdf|journal=Language and Linguistics Compass|volume=9|pages=437-449437–449|via=Wiley & Sons}}</ref>

Symbolic gestures can occur either concurrently or independently of vocal speech. Symbolic gestures are iconic gestures that are widely recognized, fixed, and have conventionalized meanings.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Krauss et. al.|first=Robert M.|year=2001|title=Lexical Gestures and Lexical Access: A Process Model|url=|journal=Book: Language and Gesture by D. McNeill (Ed.) New York: Cambridge University Press|volume=|pages=261-283261–283|via=}}</ref>

Lexical gestures, like motor gestures, cannot occur independently of verbal speech. The purpose of lexical gestures is still widely contested in the literature with some linguists arguing that lexical gestures serve to amplify or modulate the semantic content of lexical speech,<ref name="Kendon" /> or that it serves a cognitive purpose in aiding in lexical access and retrieval<ref name=":0" /> or verbal working memory.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Gillespie et. al.|first=Maureen|year=2014|title=Verbal Working Memory Predicts Co-Speech Gesture: Evidence from Individual Differences|url=|journal=Cognition|volume=132|pages=174-180174–180|via=}}</ref> Most recent research suggests that lexical gestures serve a primarily socio-pragmatic role.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Holler et. al.|first=Judith|year=2012|title=It's On the Tip of My Fingers: Co-speech Gestures During Lexical Retrieval in Different Social Contexts|url=|journal=Language and Cognitive Processes|volume=|pages=|via=}}</ref>

* {{cite journal | last1 = Parrill, | first1 = Fey, and| Evelast2 = Sweetser (| first2 = Eve | year = 2004). “What| title = What We Mean by Meaning: Conceptual Integration in Gesture Analysis and Transcription.” ''| url = | journal = Gesture'' | volume = 4. | issue = 2:| pages = 197–219 }}