Why study metaphor and gesture?
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Alan Cienki
Abstract
There are numerous ways to research gestures which represent abstract notions, and this paper begins with an overview of some of them which are represented in the current volume – from various semiotic approaches to experimental psychological studies. Then particular attention is given to metaphoric gestures studied as expressions of conceptual metaphors. This line of research has shown some of the similarities and differences between verbal and gestural metaphoric expression. The paper surveys some of the evidence provided from gesture studies which supports the view of metaphor as a cognitive phenomenon, and the notion that thought, even for abstract topics, is grounded in embodied experience. However, the study of gesture also raises some questions for research on conceptual metaphors and how it is conducted. Topics discussed include how one identifies metaphoric expressions, what counts as evidence of conceptual metaphors, how one labels them, and how gesture highlights the graded nature of metaphoricity.
Abstract
There are numerous ways to research gestures which represent abstract notions, and this paper begins with an overview of some of them which are represented in the current volume – from various semiotic approaches to experimental psychological studies. Then particular attention is given to metaphoric gestures studied as expressions of conceptual metaphors. This line of research has shown some of the similarities and differences between verbal and gestural metaphoric expression. The paper surveys some of the evidence provided from gesture studies which supports the view of metaphor as a cognitive phenomenon, and the notion that thought, even for abstract topics, is grounded in embodied experience. However, the study of gesture also raises some questions for research on conceptual metaphors and how it is conducted. Topics discussed include how one identifies metaphoric expressions, what counts as evidence of conceptual metaphors, how one labels them, and how gesture highlights the graded nature of metaphoricity.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- Introduction 1
- Why study metaphor and gesture? 5
- From left to right...: Coverbal gestures and their symbolic use of space 27
- Gesture as a conceptual mapping tool 55
- A fresh look at the foundations of mathematics: Gesture and the psychological reality of conceptual metaphor 93
- Peircean semiotics meets conceptual metaphor: Iconic modes in gestural representations of grammar 115
- Unexpected metaphors 155
- Catchment, growth point and spatial metaphor: Analysing Derrida's oral discourse on deconstruction 171
- Form, meaning, and convention: A comparison of a metaphoric gesture with an emblem 195
- What gestures reveal about the nature of metaphor 219
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Commentaries on the value of studying metaphor and gesture from the perspectives of different disciplines
- Metaphoric gesture and cognitive linguistics 249
- Metaphoric gestures and cultural analysis 253
- Metaphor and gesture: A view from the microanalysis of interaction 259
- Implications of cognitive metaphor and gesture studies for Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis and vice versa 265
- Sign and gesture: Towards a new paradigm 273
- The study of metaphor and gesture: A critique from the perspective of semiotics 277
- The neuroscience of metaphoric gestures: Why they exist 283
- Metaphor and gesture: Some implications for psychology 291
- Index 303
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- Introduction 1
- Why study metaphor and gesture? 5
- From left to right...: Coverbal gestures and their symbolic use of space 27
- Gesture as a conceptual mapping tool 55
- A fresh look at the foundations of mathematics: Gesture and the psychological reality of conceptual metaphor 93
- Peircean semiotics meets conceptual metaphor: Iconic modes in gestural representations of grammar 115
- Unexpected metaphors 155
- Catchment, growth point and spatial metaphor: Analysing Derrida's oral discourse on deconstruction 171
- Form, meaning, and convention: A comparison of a metaphoric gesture with an emblem 195
- What gestures reveal about the nature of metaphor 219
-
Commentaries on the value of studying metaphor and gesture from the perspectives of different disciplines
- Metaphoric gesture and cognitive linguistics 249
- Metaphoric gestures and cultural analysis 253
- Metaphor and gesture: A view from the microanalysis of interaction 259
- Implications of cognitive metaphor and gesture studies for Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis and vice versa 265
- Sign and gesture: Towards a new paradigm 273
- The study of metaphor and gesture: A critique from the perspective of semiotics 277
- The neuroscience of metaphoric gestures: Why they exist 283
- Metaphor and gesture: Some implications for psychology 291
- Index 303
