The development of two pragmatic gestures of the so-called Open Hand Supine family in Italian children
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Maria Graziano
Abstract
This study examines the use of two recurring pragmatic gestures, Palm Presentation or PP and Palm with a Lateral Movement or PL gestures (Kendon 2004), in Italian children aged between 4 and 10. Results indicate that PP is absent in 4-and 5-year-olds, while PL is observed in association with crystallized expressions. In contrast, older children use both PP and PL in contexts similar to adults. The appearance of such gestures seems connected to the increasing ability to structure a narrative, since it is observed in the use of different temporal and meta-discursive connectives, and to exercise rhetorical control over one’s own discourse, since it is also observed in the usage of connectives serving as modulators.
Abstract
This study examines the use of two recurring pragmatic gestures, Palm Presentation or PP and Palm with a Lateral Movement or PL gestures (Kendon 2004), in Italian children aged between 4 and 10. Results indicate that PP is absent in 4-and 5-year-olds, while PL is observed in association with crystallized expressions. In contrast, older children use both PP and PL in contexts similar to adults. The appearance of such gestures seems connected to the increasing ability to structure a narrative, since it is observed in the use of different temporal and meta-discursive connectives, and to exercise rhetorical control over one’s own discourse, since it is also observed in the usage of connectives serving as modulators.
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
