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Chapter 18. So how does gesture function in speaking, communication, and thinking?

  • Ruth Breckinridge Church and Susan Goldin-Meadow
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Why Gesture?
This chapter is in the book Why Gesture?

Abstract

This concluding chapter reflects on the book’s collected works that encapsulate, in the Aristotelian sense, gesture’s efficient causes (i.e., mechanisms that stimulate gesture) and its final causes (i.e., purposes that gesture serves). We conclude that gesture is multifunctional, operating on all levels of analysis (biological, psychological, and social levels), in all time frames (moment-to-moment, ontogenetic, and evolutionary time) and under many different discourse requirements. One over-arching theme emerges. Gesture functions simultaneously for both its producers and its observers, and thus provides a dual function that shapes thinking and language in the producer, which, in turn, shapes thinking and language in the observer – a process that underlies how we share ideas and create community.

Abstract

This concluding chapter reflects on the book’s collected works that encapsulate, in the Aristotelian sense, gesture’s efficient causes (i.e., mechanisms that stimulate gesture) and its final causes (i.e., purposes that gesture serves). We conclude that gesture is multifunctional, operating on all levels of analysis (biological, psychological, and social levels), in all time frames (moment-to-moment, ontogenetic, and evolutionary time) and under many different discourse requirements. One over-arching theme emerges. Gesture functions simultaneously for both its producers and its observers, and thus provides a dual function that shapes thinking and language in the producer, which, in turn, shapes thinking and language in the observer – a process that underlies how we share ideas and create community.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction
  4. Chapter 1. Understanding gesture 3
  5. Section 1. The function of gesture production for language
  6. Chapter 2. Representational gestures help speakers package information for speaking 15
  7. Chapter 3. Function and processing of gesture in the context of language 39
  8. Chapter 4. The asymmetric redundancy of gesture and speech 59
  9. Chapter 5. Gesture-speech unity 77
  10. Chapter 5 Supplement. Exchange on gesture-speech unity 103
  11. Section 2. The function of gesture for cognition and social interaction
  12. Chapter 6. The function of gesture in learning and memory 129
  13. Chapter 7. Gestures highlight perceptual-motor representations in thinking 155
  14. Chapter 8. One function of gesture is to make new ideas 175
  15. Chapter 9. Gesture in socio-moral reasoning 197
  16. Chapter 10. Multi-modal communication of common ground 213
  17. Part 2. The function of gesture comprehension
  18. Chapter 11. Exploring the boundaries of gesture-speech integration during language comprehension 243
  19. Chapter 12. Computational gesture research 267
  20. Chapter 13. Making and breaking common ground 285
  21. Chapter 14. The function of gesture in mathematical and scientific discourse in the classroom 317
  22. Chapter 15. Gesture’s role in learning interactions 331
  23. Chapter 16. The sound of silence 353
  24. Part 3. Why gesture?
  25. Chapter 17. Understanding gesture as representational action 381
  26. Chapter 18. So how does gesture function in speaking, communication, and thinking? 397
  27. Author index 413
  28. Subject index 421
https://doi.org/10.1075/gs.7.19chu

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction
  4. Chapter 1. Understanding gesture 3
  5. Section 1. The function of gesture production for language
  6. Chapter 2. Representational gestures help speakers package information for speaking 15
  7. Chapter 3. Function and processing of gesture in the context of language 39
  8. Chapter 4. The asymmetric redundancy of gesture and speech 59
  9. Chapter 5. Gesture-speech unity 77
  10. Chapter 5 Supplement. Exchange on gesture-speech unity 103
  11. Section 2. The function of gesture for cognition and social interaction
  12. Chapter 6. The function of gesture in learning and memory 129
  13. Chapter 7. Gestures highlight perceptual-motor representations in thinking 155
  14. Chapter 8. One function of gesture is to make new ideas 175
  15. Chapter 9. Gesture in socio-moral reasoning 197
  16. Chapter 10. Multi-modal communication of common ground 213
  17. Part 2. The function of gesture comprehension
  18. Chapter 11. Exploring the boundaries of gesture-speech integration during language comprehension 243
  19. Chapter 12. Computational gesture research 267
  20. Chapter 13. Making and breaking common ground 285
  21. Chapter 14. The function of gesture in mathematical and scientific discourse in the classroom 317
  22. Chapter 15. Gesture’s role in learning interactions 331
  23. Chapter 16. The sound of silence 353
  24. Part 3. Why gesture?
  25. Chapter 17. Understanding gesture as representational action 381
  26. Chapter 18. So how does gesture function in speaking, communication, and thinking? 397
  27. Author index 413
  28. Subject index 421
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