Pointing to show agreement
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Christina Healy,
Christina Healy (b. 1982) is a PhD candidate at Gallaudet University 〈Christina.healy@gallaudet.edu〉. Her research interests include discourse analysis, prosody, nonverbal/nonmanual communication, and metaphor in everyday language. Her publications include “Pinky extension as a phonestheme in Mongolian sign language” (2011); “Segmenting language through prosody” (2011); and “The universal and the particular in sign language prosody” (forthcoming).
Abstract
Speakers use pointing gestures for many discursive functions. This project analyzes pointing gestures made by five people during a dinner conversation. I describe functions discussed in previous studies and note them in these data. I also identify an additional purpose: pointing at the last speaker to indicate agreement with his or her statement. This project adds to the growing body of research on pointing gestures and has implications for professionals in myriad of fields. I mention the specific application to sign language interpreters, who may miss vital non-verbal cues when unable to see the speaker for whom they interpret.
About the author
Christina Healy (b. 1982) is a PhD candidate at Gallaudet University 〈Christina.healy@gallaudet.edu〉. Her research interests include discourse analysis, prosody, nonverbal/nonmanual communication, and metaphor in everyday language. Her publications include “Pinky extension as a phonestheme in Mongolian sign language” (2011); “Segmenting language through prosody” (2011); and “The universal and the particular in sign language prosody” (forthcoming).
©[2012] by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
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- Masthead
- Urban morphogenesis
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- Vision science: An empirical basis for Roentgen semiotics
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- The world has changed forever: Semiotic reflections on the experience of sudden change
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