Pointing, talk, and the bodies
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Lorenza Mondada
Abstract
Pointing has been extensively studied in the Gesture Studies literature. This chapter treats pointing, together with other gestures mobilizing the entire body, as multimodal resources deployed by speakers in referring actions that orient to and are responded to by the co-participants. Using conversation analysis, the paper examines the organization of actions in which a speaker initiates a new sequence and, by pointing, establishes the joint attention of the co-participants towards an object. These actions show the complexity of pointing as an interactional phenomenon concerning the organization of turns and sequences. The data consist of video-recorded naturally occurring social interactions and, more specifically, guided visits, which are perspicuous settings for the study of pointing and achieving joint attention.
Abstract
Pointing has been extensively studied in the Gesture Studies literature. This chapter treats pointing, together with other gestures mobilizing the entire body, as multimodal resources deployed by speakers in referring actions that orient to and are responded to by the co-participants. Using conversation analysis, the paper examines the organization of actions in which a speaker initiates a new sequence and, by pointing, establishes the joint attention of the co-participants towards an object. These actions show the complexity of pointing as an interactional phenomenon concerning the organization of turns and sequences. The data consist of video-recorded naturally occurring social interactions and, more specifically, guided visits, which are perspicuous settings for the study of pointing and achieving joint attention.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- A foreword vii
- From gesture in conversation to visible action as utterance 1
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Part I. Gaze and face
- Including facial gestures in gesture-speech ensembles 15
- Mutual gaze and recognition 35
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Part II. Manual gestures – quotable gestures and pointing
- Gesture in the communicative ecology of a South African township 59
- The emblem as metaphor 75
- Pointing, talk, and the bodies 95
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Part III. Manual gestures – their nature and relationship to language
- Gesture as “deliberate expressive movement” 127
- On the lower limit of gesture 153
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Part IV. Language evolution
- The word according to Adam 177
- The intelligibility of gesture within a framework of co-operative action 199
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Part V. Sign systems
- Signs and space in Arandic sand narratives 219
- Different strokes 245
- Gesture in all its forms 289
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Part VI. Children language development
- The development of two pragmatic gestures of the so-called Open Hand Supine family in Italian children 311
- How gestures help children to track reference in narrative 331
- Gestures and multimodal development 351
- Name index 371
- Subject index 373
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- A foreword vii
- From gesture in conversation to visible action as utterance 1
-
Part I. Gaze and face
- Including facial gestures in gesture-speech ensembles 15
- Mutual gaze and recognition 35
-
Part II. Manual gestures – quotable gestures and pointing
- Gesture in the communicative ecology of a South African township 59
- The emblem as metaphor 75
- Pointing, talk, and the bodies 95
-
Part III. Manual gestures – their nature and relationship to language
- Gesture as “deliberate expressive movement” 127
- On the lower limit of gesture 153
-
Part IV. Language evolution
- The word according to Adam 177
- The intelligibility of gesture within a framework of co-operative action 199
-
Part V. Sign systems
- Signs and space in Arandic sand narratives 219
- Different strokes 245
- Gesture in all its forms 289
-
Part VI. Children language development
- The development of two pragmatic gestures of the so-called Open Hand Supine family in Italian children 311
- How gestures help children to track reference in narrative 331
- Gestures and multimodal development 351
- Name index 371
- Subject index 373
