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The book represents a historical overview of the way the topic of gesture and sign language has been treated in the 18th century French philosophy. The texts treated are grouped into several categories based on the view they present of deafness and gesture. While some of those texts obviously view deafness and sign language in negative terms, i.e. as deficiency, others present deafness essentially as difference, i.e. as a set of competences that might provide some insights into how spoken language works. One of the arguments of the book is that these two views of deafness and sign language still represent two dominant paradigms present in the current debates on the issue. The aim of the book, therefore, is not only to provide a historical overview but to trace what might be called a "history of the present".
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

Annotation This book is a result of the growing number of insights found in recent research on gesture studies and language acquisition, which have renewed the attention of scholars in gesture functions and meanings in communication and language learning. Observation of the participation of both gesture and speech in the formulation of meaning has revealed that communication is typically multimodal. This perspective has produced engrossing research questions, particularly in contexts where the combination of languages and cultures is complex and diversified. Competence in multiple languages and in different semiotic systems inevitably impacts the way in which people interact and learn languages. Given its status as a country of immigration, Canada provides such a context for this study. This book discusses the changes that the literature on gesture studies can help implement in current practices of language pedagogy. By including gesture as a nonverbal dimension of language and as a means for language acquisition, it provides a contrast to those traditions that have viewed gesture as a marginal aspect of communication and language learning. In addition, this book offers the results of three research studies in Italian language classes in Canada, showing that gesture enables a multimodal approach in language pedagogy and a richer experience for both teachers and learners.

• Part 1: Introduction 1. Inherent Benefits 2. An Abridged, Concise, (Perhaps Quirky) History On Gestures 3. Gesture-Sign Language Connections 4. Gesture and Pantomime in Theatre 5. Nonverbal Applications 6. Some Iconic Gestures in Culture, Film, and TV 7. Self-Awareness Part 2: Warm-ups, Icebreakers, & Exercises 1. Physical Warm-Ups and Icebreakers 2. Facial Expression Exercises 3. Visual Exercises 4. Visual-Gestural Exercises Part 3: Visual-Gestural Communication Assignments 1. Your Gestural Introduction 2. Personal Coat of Arms 3. Universal Gestures 4. International Sign 5. Random Universal Phrases/Questions 6. Weekend Highlight in Universal Gestures 7. Cirque du Soleil: Nouvelle Experience 8. Body Language 9. Some Basic Hand Orientations for Two-Dimensional (2D) Gestures 10. Developing a Pantomime With Two-Dimensional (2D) Gestures 11. Abstract Two-Dimensional (2D) Gestures 12. Practice With Basic Three-Dimensional (3D) Hand Shapes: Objects 13. Creating Three-Dimensional (3D) Objects 14. Continued Practice With Three-Dimensional (3D) Hand Shapes: Buildings and Structures 15. Arrangement of Related Objects 16. Repeating Patterns 17. Angles & Perspectives 18. Environmental Gestures 19. Cooking Up a Storm 20. Character Description 21. Character Icons 22. Animal Character Description 23. Vehicle Gestures 24. Visual Vernacular
• an Aspect Using Body Movement Designators Part 4: Projects 1. Playwriting, and Performing With Gestures and Movement 2. Gestures in the Work World 3. Creating an Original, Visual, Nonverbal, Comical Script a la Mr. Bean 4. Assessing Your Facial Expressions 5. Facial Storytelling 6. Visual Nonverbal Comical Script a la Mr. Bean 7. Performance Reaction Paper 8. Visual-Gestural Translation of a Haiku 9. Re-enacting Little Miss Muffet in Gestures & Movement 10. Two Crows Project 11. Visual Theatre Project 12. Research Project 13. Final Project Part 5: Bibliography.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

Visual-Gestural Communication is a truly unique volume in non-language communication devoted to the study of universal gestures, facial expressions, body language, and pantomime. Readers develop the skill and confidence to interact -- sans shared language -- with individuals, such as someone who is deaf or hard of hearing, or who speaks a foreign language. The text and accompanying online resources feature a wealth of icebreakers, sequenced yet modular activities and assignments, as well as resources, student exercises, and teacher-guided tasks that explore aspects and amalgamations of nonverbal communication, theatre, and sign language. It is a tremendous resource for students of visual-gestural communication, sign language interpretation, American Sign Language (and other foreign sign languages), nonverbal communication, theatre, and performance studies, as well as community educators in deaf awareness and advocacy. In addition to the text's vital use in the theatrical arena, it is also applicable to teachers who wish to help their students maximize the use of their facial expressions, gestures, and body language as a prerequisite to learning ASL. .
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• On the beauty of gestures
• The Head
• The Temples
• The Ear
• The Forehead
• The Eyebrows and Eyelashes
• The Eye
• The Nose
• The Mouth
• The Lips
• The Tongue
• The Teeth
• The Cheeks
• The Chin
• The Neck
• The Shoulders
• The Armpits
• The Arms
• The Forearm
• The Elbow
• The Wrist
• The Fingernails
• The Hand
• The Fist
• Both Hands
• Hand to Hand
• The Thumb
• The Index Finger
• The Middle Finger
• The Ring Finger
• The Little Finger (The Pinky)
• The Torso
• The Chest
• The Hips
• The Waist and the Stomach
• The Buttocks
• The Groin, the Genitals, the Thighs
• The Knees, the Legs
• The Foot.

An illustrated guide to more than 850 gestures and their meanings around the world, from a nod of the head to a click of the heels. Gestures convey meaning with a flourish. A vigorous nod of the head, a bold jut of the chin, an enthusiastic thumbs-up: all speak louder than words. Yet the same gesture may have different meanings in different parts of the world. What Americans understand as the "A-OK gesture, " for example, is an obscene insult in the Arab world. This volume is the reference book we didn't know we needed-an illustrated dictionary of 850 gestures and their meanings around the world. It catalogs voluntary gestures made to communicate openly-as distinct from sign language, dance moves, involuntary "tells, " or secret handshakes-and explains what the gesture conveys in a variety of locations. It is organized by body part, from top to bottom, from head (nodding, shaking, turning) to foot (scraping, kicking, playing footsie). We learn that "to oscillate the head while gently throwing it back" communicates approval in some countries even though it resembles the headshake of disapproval used in other countries; that "to tap a slightly inflated cheek" constitutes an erotic invitation when accompanied by a wink; that the middle finger pointed in the air signifies approval in South America. We may already know that it is a grave insult in the Middle East and Asia to display the sole of one's shoe, but perhaps not that motorcyclists sometimes greet each other by raising a foot. Illustrated with clever line drawings and documented with quotations from literature (the author, Francois Caradec, was a distinguished and prolific historian of literature, culture, and humorous oddities, as well as a novelist and poet), this dictionary offers readers unique lessons in polylingual meaning.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• Why gestures?
• How gestures carry meaning
• Two dimensions
• Imagery-language dialectic
• Discourse
• Children and whorf
• Neurogesture
• The thought-language-hand link and language origins.

Gesturing is such an integral yet unconscious part of communication that we are mostly oblivious to it. But if you observe anyone in conversation, you are likely to see his or her fingers, hands, and arms in some form of spontaneous motion. Why? David McNeill, a pioneer in the ongoing study of the relationship between gesture and language, set about answering this question over twenty-five years ago. In "Gesture and Thought" he brings together years of this research, arguing that gesturing, an act which has been popularly understood as an accessory to speech, is actually a dialectical component of language. "Gesture and Thought" expands on McNeillOCOs acclaimed classic "Hand and Mind." While that earlier work demonstrated what gestures reveal about thought, here gestures are shown to be active participants in both speaking and thinking. Expanding on an approach introduced by Lev Vygotsky in the 1930s, McNeill posits that gestures are key ingredients in an OC imagery-language dialecticOCO that fuels both speech "and" thought. Gestures are both the OC imageryOCO and components of OC language.OCO The smallest element of this dialectic is the OC growth point, OCO a snapshotaof an utterance at its beginning psychological stage. Utilizing several innovative experiments he created and administered with subjects spanning several different age, gender, and language groups, McNeill shows how growth points organize themselves into utterances and extend to discourse at the moment of speaking.An ambitious project in the ongoing study of the relationship of human communication and thought, "Gesture and Thought "is a work of such consequence that it will influence all subsequent theory on the subject.".
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• 1. Why different, why the same? Explaining effects and non-effects of modality upon linguistic structure in sign and speech Richard P. Meier
• Part I. Phonological Structure in Signed Languages: 2. Modality differences in sign language phonology and morphophonemics Diane Brentari
• 3. Beads on a string? Representations of repetition in spoken and signed languages Rachel Channon
• 4. Psycholinguistic investigations of phonological structure in American Sign Language David P. Corina and Ursula C. Hildebrandt
• 5. Modality-dependent aspects of sign language production: evidence from slips of the hands and their repairs in German Sign Language Annette Hohenberger, Daniela Happ and Helen Leuninger
• 6. The role of manually coded English in language development of deaf children Samuel J. Supalla and Cecile McKee
• Part II. Gesture and Iconicity in Sign and Speech: 7. A modality-free notion of gesture and how it can help us with the morpheme vs. gesture question in sign language linguistics (or at least give us some criteria to work with) Arika Okrent
• 8. Gesture as the substrate in the process of ASL grammaticization Terry Janzen and Barbara Shaffer
• 9. A cross-linguistic examination of the lexicons of four signed languages Anne-Marie Currie, Richard P. Meier and Keith Walters
• Part III. Syntax in Sign: Few or No Effects of Modality: 10. Where are all the modality effects? Diane Lillo-Martin
• 11. Applying morphosyntactic and phonological readjustment rules in natural language negation Roland Pfau
• 12. Nominal expressions in Hong Kong Sign Language: does modality make a difference? Gladys Tang and Felix Sze
• Part IV. Using Space and Describing Space: 13. Pronominal reference in signed and spoken language: are grammatical categories modality-dependent? Susan Lloyd McBurney
• 14. Is verb agreement the same cross-modally? Christian Rathmann and Gaurav Mathur
• 15. The effects of modality on spatial language: how signers and speakers talk about space Karen Emmorey
• 16. The effects of modality on BSL development in an exceptional learner Gary Morgan, Neil Smith, Ianthi Tsimpli and Bencie Woll
• 17. Deictic points in the visual/gestural and tactile/gestural modalities David Quinto-Pozos.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

The realisation that signed languages are true languages is one of the great discoveries of linguistic research. The work of many sign language researchers has revealed deep similarities between signed and spoken languages in their structure, acquisition and processing, as well as differences, arising from the differing articulatory and perceptual constraints under which signed languages are used and learned. This book provides a cross-linguistic examination of the properties of many signed languages, including detailed case studies of Hong Kong, British, Mexican and German sign languages. The contributions to this volume, by some of the most prominent researchers in the field, focus on a single question: to what extent is linguistic structure influenced by the modality of language? Their answers offer particular insights into the factors that shape the nature of language and contribute to our understanding of why languages are organised as they are.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• 1. Foreword
• 2. Acknowledgements
• 3. Introduction
• 4. Chapter 1. The gestural sign and related key concepts
• 5. Chapter 2. The demarcative function of gesture
• 6. Chapter 3. Identifying the referential function of gesture
• 7. Chapter 4. Classification of referential gestures according to their priority components
• 8. Chapter 5. Systematic analysis to identify gestural signs
• 9. Chapter 6. Different gestures represent one notion: Variation
• 10. Chapter 7. One gesture represents different notions: Polysemy and Polysign
• 11. Chapter 8. The analogical links between gestures and notions
• 12. chapter 9. The gestural sign and speech
• 13. Chapter 10. Gesture, thought and speech
• 14. Conclusion
• 15. References
• 16. Appendix A
• 17. Appendix B
• 18. Postscript: A semiotic and linguistic perspective on gestures
• 19. Person index
• 20. Subject index.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

Summarizing her pioneering work on the semiotic analysis of gestures in conversational settings, Genevieve Calbris offers a comprehensive account of her unique perspective on the relationship between gesture, speech, and thought. She highlights the various functions of gesture and especially shows how various gestural signs can be created in the same gesture by analogical links between physical and semantic elements. Originating in our world experience via mimetic and metonymic processes, these analogical links are activated by contexts of use and thus lead to a diverse range of semantic constructions rather as, from the components of a Meccano kit, many different objects can be assembled. By (re)presenting perceptual schemata that mediate between the concrete and the abstract, gesture may frequently anticipate verbal formulation. Arguing for gesture as a symbolic system in its own right that interfaces with thought and speech production, Calbris' book brings a challenging new perspective to gesture studies and will be seminal for generations of gesture researchers.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• 1. Introduction, p1-10
• 2. Section one. Evolutionary precursors, p11-12
• 3. Chapter 1. Monkeys' mirror neurons, p13-36
• 4. Chapter 2. Chimpanzees and the visual field of the conspecific, p37-46
• 5. Section two. The basic human ability, p47-48
• 6. Chapter 3. The three modes of processing the eyes of others, p49-60
• 7. Chapter 4. Pointing gestures, p61-78
• 8. Chapter 5. Four-hand co-operative actions and children's interpersonal co-ordination games, p79-88
• 9. Section three. Specifying some necessary requisites of language, p89-90
• 10. Chapter 6. Saussurean parity and the perception of a radically not-own self, p91-104
• 11. Chapter 7. About evocation, p105-112
• 12. Chapter 8. Symbolic play: Developments in the simulatory centre, p113-136
• 13. Chapter 9. From symbolic play to linguistic symbol, p137-158
• 14. Section four. The origin of predication and syntax, p159-160
• 15. Chapter 10. From the general exposition to the crucial requisite achieved by the protodeclarative, p161-176
• 16. Chapter 11. Toward the original perception of false beliefs of others: The importance of the learned sign, p177-188
• 17. Chapter 12. Between motor learning and the perception of beliefs of others: The crucial role of the protodeclarative, p189-202
• 18. Section five. Pregrammatical, theme-rheme syntax: Revisiting Frege and Vygotsky, p203-204
• 19. Chapter 13. From beliefs of others to communicative predication, p205-218
• 20. Chapter 14. Revisiting Frege: How can a predication be at one and the same time true and not redundant?, p219-228
• 21. Chapter 15. Communicative functions, Vygotskian 'pure predicate' and conceptual semantics: Various questions about predication, p229-238
• 22. Chapter 16. Connecting with the concepts of theme (or topic) and rheme (or comment), p239-254
• 23. Section six. From original to present-day predication: Links and grammatical syntax, p255-256
• 24. Chapter 17. Meaning and the different types of link, p257-270
• 25. Chapter 18. Expressive speech and syntactic links: A hypothesis on the historic origins of those links, and on some other questions, along the way, p271-302
• 26. Chapter 19. Historical grammaticalisation: The answers are lacking, but the questions are good, p303-314
• 27. Section seven. Syntax beyond predication, p315-316
• 28. Chapter 20. Interrogative communication, p317-336
• 29. Chapter 21. Toward complex syntax: The crucial role of reported speech, p337-358
• 30. Preliminary conclusion and the main thesis recapitulated, p359-362
• 31. References, p363-390
• 32. Glossary, p391-394
• 33. Author index, p395-400
• 34. Subject index, p401-402.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Section one. Evolutionary precursors
• 3. Chapter 1. Monkeys' mirror neurons
• 4. Chapter 2. Chimpanzees and the visual field of the conspecific
• 5. Section two. The basic human ability
• 6. Chapter 3. The three modes of processing the eyes of others
• 7. Chapter 4. Pointing gestures
• 8. Chapter 5. Four-hand co-operative actions and children's interpersonal co-ordination games
• 9. Section three. Specifying some necessary requisites of language
• 10. Chapter 6. Saussurean parity and the perception of a radically not-own self
• 11. Chapter 7. About evocation
• 12. Chapter 8. Symbolic play: Developments in the simulatory centre
• 13. Chapter 9. From symbolic play to linguistic symbol
• 14. Section four. The origin of predication and syntax
• 15. Chapter 10. From the general exposition to the crucial requisite achieved by the protodeclarative
• 16. Chapter 11. Toward the original perception of false beliefs of others: The importance of the learned sign
• 17. Chapter 12. Between motor learning and the perception of beliefs of others: The crucial role of the protodeclarative
• 18. Section five. Pregrammatical, theme-rheme syntax: Revisiting Frege and Vygotsky
• 19. Chapter 13. From beliefs of others to communicative predication
• 20. Chapter 14. Revisiting Frege: How can a predication be at one and the same time true and not redundant?
• 21. Chapter 15. Communicative functions, Vygotskian 'pure predicate' and conceptual semantics: Various questions about predication
• 22. Chapter 16. Connecting with the concepts of theme (or topic) and rheme (or comment)
• 23. Section six. From original to present-day predication: Links and grammatical syntax
• 24. Chapter 17. Meaning and the different types of link
• 25. Chapter 18. Expressive speech and syntactic links: A hypothesis on the historic origins of those links, and on some other questions, along the way
• 26. Chapter 19. Historical grammaticalisation: The answers are lacking, but the questions are good
• 27. Section seven. Syntax beyond predication
• 28. Chapter 20. Interrogative communication
• 29. Chapter 21. Toward complex syntax: The crucial role of reported speech
• 30. Preliminary conclusion and the main thesis recapitulated
• 31. References
• 32. Glossary
• 33. Author index
• 34. Subject index.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

What do the pointing gesture, the imitation of new complex motor patterns, the evocation of absent objects and the grasping of others' false beliefs all have in common? Apart from being (one way or other) involved in the language, they all would share a demanding requirement - a second mental centre within the subject. This redefinition of the simulationism is extended in the present book in two directions. Firstly, mirror-neurons and, likewise, animal abilities connected with the visual field of their fellows, although they certainly constitute important landmarks, would not require this second mental centre. Secondly, others' beliefs would have given rise not only to predicative communicative function but also to pre-grammatical syntax. The inquiry about the evolutionary-historic origin of language focuses on the cognitive requirements on it as a faculty (but not to the indirect causes such as environmental changes or greater co-operation), pays attention to children, and covers other human peculiarities as well, e.g., symbolic play, protodeclaratives, self-conscious emotions, and interactional or four-hand tasks.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• 1. I. Introduction
• 2. 1 Introduction: The Dynamic Dimension of Language (by Levy, Elena T.)
• 3. 2 On the Origins of Modern Gesture Studies (by Kendon, Adam)
• 4. II. Language and Cognition
• 5. 3 Gesture with Speech and Without it (by Goldin-Meadow, Susan)
• 6. 4 From Gestures to Signs in the Acquisition of Sign Language (by Hoiting, Nini)
• 7. 5 How does Spoken Language Shape Iconic Gestures? (by Kita, Sotaro)
• 8. 6 Forgetful or Strategic? The Mystery of the Systematic Avoidance of Reference in the Cartoon Story Narrative (by Furuyama, Nobuhiro)
• 9. 7 Metagesture: An Analysis of Theoretical Discourse about Multimodal Language (by Parrill, Fey)
• 10. 8 Potential Cognitive Universals: Evidence from Head Movements in Turkana (by McClave, Evelyn)
• 11. 9 Blending in Deception: Tracing Output Back to its Source (by Franklin, Amy)
• 12. 10 A Dynamic View of Metaphor, Gesture and Thought (by Muller, Cornelia)
• 13. 11 Second Language Acquisition from a McNeillian Perspective (by Stam, Gale)
• 14. III. Environmental Context and Sociality
• 15. 12 Face-to-face Dialogue as a Micro-social Context: The Example of Motor Mimicry (by Bavelas, Janet)
• 16. 13 Master Speakers, Master Gesturers: A String Quarter Master Class (by Haviland, John B.)
• 17. 14 Constructing Spatial Conceptualizations from Limited Input: Evidence from Norwegian Sign Language (by Liddell, Scott K.)
• 18. 15 Environmentally Coupled Gestures (by Goodwin, Charles)
• 19. 16 Indexing Locations in Gesture: Recalled Stimulus Image and Interspeaker Coordination as Factors Influencing Gesture Form (by Kimbara, Irene)
• 20. 17 The Role of Iconic Gesture in Semantic Communication and its Theoretical and Practical Implications (by Beattie, Geoffrey)
• 21. 18 Intersubjectivity in Gestures: The Speaker's Perspective toward the Addressee (by Ishino, Mika)
• 22. 19 An Integrated Approach to the Study of Convention, Conflict, and Compliance in Interaction (by Duncan, Starkey)
• 23. IV. Atypical Minds and Bodies
• 24. 20 Discourse Focus, Gesture, and Disfluent Aphasia (by Duncan, Susan D.)
• 25. 21 The Construction of a Temporally Coherent Narrative by an Autistic Adolescent: Co-contributions of Speech, Enactment and Gesture (by Levy, Elena T.)
• 26. 22 The Body in Communication: Lessons from the Near-Human (by Cassell, Justine)
• 27. Index.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

Each of the 21 chapters in this volume reflects a view of language as a dynamic phenomenon with emergent structure, and in each, gesture is approached as part of language, not an adjunct to it. In this, all of the authors have been influenced by David McNeill's methods for studying natural discourse and by his theory of the human capacity for language. The introductory chapter by Adam Kendon contextualizes McNeill's research paradigm within a history of earlier gesture studies. Chapters in the first section, Language and Cognition, emphasize what McNeill refers to as the intrapersonal plane. Many of the chapters adduce evidence for McNeill's claim that gestures can serve as a window onto the speaker's mind. Chapters in the second section, Environmental Context and Sociality, emphasize the interpersonal plane and exemplify McNeill's focus on how moment-to-moment language use is determined by contextual factors. The final section of the volume, Atypical Minds and Bodies, concerns lessons to be learned from studies of aphasic patients, autistic children, and artificial humans.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• Part 1: The Problem of Language Learning. Out of the Mouths of Babes. How Do Children Learn Language? Language-Learning Across the Globe. Language-Learning by Hand. Does More or Less Input Matter?
• Part 2: Language Development without a Language Model. Background on Deafness and Language-Learning. How Do We Begin? Words. The Parts of Words. Combining Words Into Simple Sentences. Making Complex Sentences out of Simple Ones: Recursion. Building a System. Beyond the Here-And-Now: The Functions Gesture Serves. How Might Hearing Parents Foster Gesture Creation in Their Deaf Children? Gesture Creation Across the Globe.
• Part 3: The Conditions that Foster Language and Language-Learning. How Do the Resilient Properties of Language Help Children Learn Language? When Does Gesture Become Language? Is Language Innate? The Resilience of Language. References. Author Index. Subject Index.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

Imagine a child who has never seen or heard any language at all. Would such a child be able to invent a language on her own? Despite what one might guess, the children described in this book make it clear that the answer to this question is 'yes'. The children are congenitally deaf and cannot learn the spoken language that surrounds them. In addition, they have not yet been exposed to sign language, either by their hearing parents or their oral schools. Nevertheless, the children use their hands to communicate - they gesture - and those gestures take on many of the forms and functions of language. The properties of language that we find in the deaf children's gestures are just those properties that do not need to be handed down from generation to generation, but can be reinvented by a child de novo - the resilient properties of language. This book suggests that all children, deaf or hearing, come to language-learning ready to develop precisely these language properties. In this way, studies of gesture creation in deaf children can show us the way that children themselves have a large hand in shaping how language is learned.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)