Pointing gesture in young children
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Hélène Cochet
Abstract
This chapter provides an overview of recent studies that have investigated the development of pointing behaviors in infants and toddlers. First, we focus on deictic gestures and their role in language development, taking into account the different hand shapes and the different functions of pointing, and examining the cognitive abilities that may or may not be associated with the production of pointing gestures. Second, we try to demonstrate that when a distinction is made between pointing gestures and manipulative activities, the study of children’s hand preference can help to highlight the development of speech-gesture links.
Abstract
This chapter provides an overview of recent studies that have investigated the development of pointing behaviors in infants and toddlers. First, we focus on deictic gestures and their role in language development, taking into account the different hand shapes and the different functions of pointing, and examining the cognitive abilities that may or may not be associated with the production of pointing gestures. Second, we try to demonstrate that when a distinction is made between pointing gestures and manipulative activities, the study of children’s hand preference can help to highlight the development of speech-gesture links.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- About the authors ix
- Gesture and multimodal development 1
- Pointing gesture in young children 7
- Support or competition? 27
- From gesture to sign and from gesture to word 49
- How the hands control attention during early word learning 79
- Infant movement as a window into language processing 99
- Children’s lexical skills and task demands affect gestural behavior in mothers of late-talking children and children with typical language development 129
- The type of shared activity shapes caregiver and infant communication 157
- Transcribing and annotating multimodality 175
- Mathematical learning and gesture 199
- Index 221
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- About the authors ix
- Gesture and multimodal development 1
- Pointing gesture in young children 7
- Support or competition? 27
- From gesture to sign and from gesture to word 49
- How the hands control attention during early word learning 79
- Infant movement as a window into language processing 99
- Children’s lexical skills and task demands affect gestural behavior in mothers of late-talking children and children with typical language development 129
- The type of shared activity shapes caregiver and infant communication 157
- Transcribing and annotating multimodality 175
- Mathematical learning and gesture 199
- Index 221
